how generally we were men of the strictest Sect and of the greatest Zeal in the Performance of outward righteousness and went through and tried all sorts of Teachers and run from Mountain to Mountain and from man to man and from one Form to another as do many to this very day who yet remain ungathered to the Lord and such we were to say no more of us that sought the Lord and desired the knowledge of his Wayes more then any thing beside and for one I may speak who from a Child even a few years old he set his face to seek and find the Saviour and more then Life and Treasure or any mortal Crown sought after with all his heart the one thing that is needful to wit the Knowledge of God And after our long seeking the Lord appeared to us and revealed his glory in us and gave us of his Spirit from Heaven and poured it upon us and gave us of his Wisdom to guide us whereby we saw all the World and the true state of all things the true condition of the Church in her present estate first the Lord brought us by his Power Wisdom and the Word by which all things were made to know and understand and see perfectly that God had given to us every one of us in particular a Light from himself shining in our hearts and consciences which Light Christ his Son the Saviour of the World had lighted every man and all Mankind withal which Light in us we found sufficient to reprove us convince us of every evil deed word and thought and by it in us we come to know good from evil right from wrong and whatsoever is of God and according to him from what is of the Devil and what is contrary to God in motion word and work and this Light gave us to discern between truth and error between every false and right way and it perfectly discovered to us the true state of all things and we thereby came to know man what he was in his creation before transgression and how he was deceived and overcome by the Devil and his estate in transgression and in disobedience and how he is drove and banished from the presence of the Lord and the sorrow and anguish which he is in and to undergo and also by the Light in us we perfectly came to know the way of Restauration and the means to be restored and the state of man being come out of Transgression and restored these things to us were revealed by the Light within us which Christ had given us and lightened us withal what man was before Transgression and what he is in Transgression and what he is being redeemed out of Transgression and also the Light which shineth in every one of us as to it our minds became turned and our hearts inclined the perfect Estate of the Church we came to know her Estate before the Apostles days and in the Apostles dayes and since the dayes of the Apostles and her present Estate we found to be as a Woman who had once been cloathed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet who brought forth him that was to rule the Nations but she was fled into the Wilderness and there sitting desolate in her place that was prepared of God for such a season which season in the very end thereof when the time of her sojourning was towards a full end then were we brought forth if any have an Ear they may hear so that all these things concerning man and concerning the times and seasons and the changing and renewing of times and all things that pertain to Salvation and Redemption and Eternal Life needfull for man to know all this was revealed discovered and made known to us by the Light which was in us which Christ had lighted us withal And we found this Light to be a sufficient Teacher to lead us to Christ from whence this Light came and thereby it gave us to receive Christ and to witness him to dwell in us and through it the new Covenant we came to enter into to be made Heirs of Life and Salvation and in all things we found the Light which we were enlightened withal and all Mankind which is Christ to be alone and only sufficient to bring to Life and eternal Salvation and that all who did own the Light in them which Christ hath enlightened every man withal they needed no man to teach them but the Lord was their Teacher by his Light in their own Consciences and they received the holy Anointing And so we ceased from the teachings of all men and their words and their Worships and their Temples and all their Baptisms and Churches and we ceased from our own Words and Professions and Practises in Religion in times before zealously performed by us through divers Forms and we become Fools for Christ's sake that we might become truely wise and by this Light of Christ in us were we led out of all false Wayes and false Preachings and false Ministers and we met together often and waited upon the Lord in pure Silence from our own words and all mens words and hearkned to the Voice of the Lord and felt his Word in our hearts to burn up and beat down all that was contrary to God and we obeyed the Light of Christ in us and followed the Motions of the Lords pure Spirit and took up the Cross to all Earthly Glories Crowns and Ways and denied our selves our Relations and all that stood in the way betwixt us and the Lord and we chose to suffer with and for the Name of Christ rather then all the pleasures upon Earth or all our former zealous Professions and Practices in Religion without the Power and Spirit of God which the World yet lives in And while waiting upon the Lord in Silence as often we did for many Hours together with our minds and hearts towards him being stayed in the Light of Christ within us from all thoughts fleshly Motions and desires in our diligent waiting and fear of his Name and hearkning to his Word we re-received often the pouring down of the Spirit upon us and the Gift of God's holy eternal Spirit as in the dayes of old and our heart were made glad and our Tongues loosed and our Mouthes opened and we spake with new Tongues as the Lord gave us utterance and as his Spirit led us which was poured down upon us on Sons and Daughters and to us hereby was the deep things of God revealed and things unutterable were known and made manifest and the Glory of the Father was revealed and then begun we to sing Praises to the Lord God Almighty and to the Lamb for ever who had redeemed us to God and brought us out of the Captivity and Bondage of the World and put an end to Sin and Death and all this was by and through and in the Light of Christ within us and much more might be declared hereof that which
could not be believed if it were spoken of the several and particular Operations and Manifestations of the everlasting Spirit that was given us and revealed in us but this is the sum Life and Immortality was brought to light Power from on High and Wisdom was made manifest the Day everlasting appeared unto us and the joyful Sun of Righteousness did arise and shine forth unto us and in us and the holy Anointing the everlasting Comforter we received and the Babe of Glory was born and the Heir of the Promise brought forth to Reign over the Earth and over Hell and Death whereby we entered into everlasting Union and Fellowship and Covenant with the Lord God whose Mercies are sure and infinite and his Promise never fails and much might be spoken but this is the sum we were raised from Death to Life and are changed from Satans power to God and gathered from all the dumb Shepherds and off all the barren Mountains into the Fold of eternal Peace and Rest and mighty and wonderful things hath the Lord wrought for us and by us by his own out-stretched Arm. And thus we became Followers of the Lamb whithersoever he goes and he hath called us to make war in righteousness for his Name sake against Hell and Death and all the Powers of Darkness and against the Beast and false Prophet which have deceived the Nations and we are of the Royal Seed Elect Chosen and Faithful and we war in Truth and just Judgment not with Weapons that are carnal but by the Sword that goes out of his Mouth which shall slay the Wicked and cut them to pieces and after this manner was our Birth and bringing forth and thus hath the Lord chosen us and made us an Army dreadful and terrible before whom the Wicked do fear and tremble and our Standard is Truth Justice Righteousness Equity and all that comes unto us must cleave thereunto and fight under that Banner without fear and without doubting and they shall never be ashamed nor put to flight neither shall ever they be conquer'd by Hell or Death or by the Powers of Darkness but the Lord shall be their Armour Weapon and Defence for evermore and they that follow the Lamb shall overcome and get the Victory over the Beast and over the Dragon and over the Gates of Hell for the Lord is with us and who shall be able to make us afraid Then having thus armed us with Power Strength and Wisdom and Dominion according to his Mind and we having learned of him and being taught of him in all things and he having chosen us into his Work and put his Sword into our hands and given us perfect Commission to go forth in his Name and Authority having the Word from his Mouth what to cut down and what to preserve and having the everlasting Gospel to preach to the Inhabitants of the Earth and being commanded in spirit to leave all and follow him and go forth in his Work yea an absolute necessity was laid upon us and wo unto us if we preacht not the Gospel for when we looked abroad and beheld the World behold it was altogether Darkness and even as a Wilderness and desolate and barren of good Fruit and Death reigned over men and no good Fruit was brought forth to God but Leaves we beheld upon every Soul and all men and people were made drunk with the Wine of Whoredoms and the Whores Cup they had drunk and was committing Fornication with the great Whore and she reigned over the Kings and peoples of the Earth and the Antichrist was set up in the Temple of God ruling over all and having brought Nations under his Power and set up his Government over all for many Ages even since the days of the Apostles and true Churches hath he reign'd while the Woman hath been fled into the Wilderness and the Man-Child caught up to God Christ said Antichrist should come and put on the Sheeps cloathing and be inwardly a ravening Woolf and Iohn saw that Antichrist was come in his dayes and he went forth then from the true Church and went into the World and deceived the World and ever since his Kingdom hath reigned over Nations for then he begun to exalt himself and it is sixteen hundred years since all which time Antichrist that hath had the Sheeps Cloathing but inwardly a Ravener and hath ruled and reigned and this we saw and perceived in the very time of our birth and bringing forth and we behold Nations as a Wilderness untilled and mens Hearts as the fallow Ground unbroken up and not plowed nor sown with the good Seed of Gods Kingdom so that we saw all states and orders of men corrupted and degenerated from what they ought to be and from what God had once ordained them As for the Ministry first we looking upon it with a single eye in the Light of the Spirit of God which had Anointed us we behold it clearly which formerly we had been stumbling at and much doubting of that it was not the perfect Ministry of Christ for many years before not to be of Christ nor sent of him nor having the Commission power Authority of Christ as his Ministry had in the days of the true Churches but in all things as in Call practice maintenance and in every thing else in fruits and effects we found it disagree and be wholly contrary to the true Ministry of Christ in the days of the Apostles and likewise we truely beheld it to be in Call practice and Maintenance and all things the very same in fruits and effects with the false Ministry and false Prophets and false Apostles and Deceivers of old and this I do testifie and am able to prove in the Spirit and Authority of the Lord that the publick Ministry as now it stands generally is wholy degenerated from what the true Ministry of Christ once was and differs and is contrary in all things to what Christ's Ministers were and agreeth and is equal in all things with what the false Prophets and Deceivers were thoughout all Ages and this I charge upon it in the face and view of all men to whom this may come for this we saw concerning it in the beginning and our first assurance And as for other Places and Orders of men and Callings we saw them also corrupted and degenerated and evil and iniquity abounding among all sorts of people and blindness and darkness covered the face of the Earth and of the World and all people were in their Transgressions and making void the Law of God and that it was time for the Lord to work and to arise to ease himself of his Adversaries and as for all Churches so called and Professions and Gatherings of people we beheld you as all in the Apostacy and degeneration from the true Church not being gathered by the Spirit of the Lord nor anointed thereby as the true Members of Christ ever were but to be in a
hath not appeared to be and her former Glory hath seemed to be gone and she hath been driven away from her Head from her Husband and from her Seed Behold all people the Estate of such a Woman and read this Parable who can A Woman most Glorious and Fair having her Husband Ruler of the whole Earth and having an Heir born to rule over Heaven and Earth being cover'd with the Light of Heaven and of the Everlasting Day and having the Light of the Night under her Feet yet hath this Woman been deprived of her Glory and sate desolate in the Wilderness a mournful place separated from her Husband and made Childless and without Seed And what Eye that sees this aright but must Mourn and what Heart that truly perceives it but must lament A Woman so Great and so Glorious and so Fruitful as to bring forth the Heir of Heaven and Earth yet has she been left as a Mourner as without Husband and without Issue for many Generations This hath been her Estate and Condition for Ages since the dayes of the Apostles which Iohn saw in a Vision would shortly come to pass after him and we see it hath been come to pass within this sixteen hundred years And this hath been the Estate of the true Church for many Ages A Woman childless whose Heir hath been taken from her and whose Seed hath been made war against and killed for many Generations But her time was decreed and she should but be thus for so many dayes and now are the dayes expired and she again shall receive her Heir that hath been caught up from her and her Seed shall spring forth and her Slain shall live and her Beauty shall be given her and her first Glory shall be encreased and she shall feed no longer in the mourning Wilderness but she shall be fed upon the Mountain of God's House which is to be established upon the top of all Mountains and her Seed shall spring forth numberless and her Heir shall rule with an Iron Rod and her Marriage Day is come and the approach thereof nigh and Life shall be revealed Thus she hath been and thus she shall be the Lord hath said it Now as for all those Multitudes of Sects and Peoples that have professed Religion and as for all those Churches so called that have gone under that name which have professed Christ to be their Head and made a shew of him in appearance the Papist's Church the Protestant's Church and all the Sects that have risen out of them they have not been the true Spouse the Lamb's Wife but Children of Fornication and not of the Seed of that Woman that was once clothed with the Sun and they are come up and their Original begun while this true Woman this Spouse of Christ hath been Childless None of these are clothed with the Sun nor none of them have brought forth the Heir of Salvation Come let 's reason with you Who was your Mother who brought you forth and in what Womb were you bred you that have appeared in the world and for many Ages for the true Spouse The Mother of the Heir hath been childless and as a Widdow banished from her Husband and her Heirs separated from her and her Seed killed and made War against She hath not born you nor brought you forth Then of what Womb did you spring all ye of the Papist's and Protestant's Church and all the Sects that came out of you answer me this None of you have been fled into the Wilderness for you have appeared in the World None of you have been as a Widdow mourning for you have been practizing Ordinances and rejoycing in the World None of you have been without Issue nor your Seed made War against for you have been fruitful in the World and one Sect brought forth another and one Church brought forth another therefore none of you have been that Woman which Iohn saw For never none of you from the least to the greatest of you were ever clothed with the Sun nor had the Moon under your Feet nor ruled the Nations with the Rod of Iron therefore none of you are the true Spouse the Lamb's Wife he is not Husband to any of you nor is he your Child nor Heir And this is the Word of the Lord God to you all you Churches and Sects Your beginning and springing forth was from another Womb while this Woman lodged in the Wilderness and while she was childless and without Seed and the Mother of Harlots brought you forth the great Whore whose Superscription is Mystery of Babylon and her Character is Mother of all Abominations For while this other Woman hath been fled into the Wilderness which Iohn saw was fled thither this woman the Mother of Harlots which brought you forth hath been fruitful and flourishing and hath had an Husband and many Children For Iohn speaks of two Women of a Whore and of a Virgin of one the Blood of whose Seed was drunk and the other drunk the Blood yea one that was made war with and against for the Saints were killed and their Blood drunk and that other killed the Saints and was made drunk with their Blood the one was fled into the Wilderness he saw of which I have spoken 〈…〉 other making all Nations drunk with her Fornication and ruling over all the Nations of the Earth as a Queen And while the one of those the Virgin the Lamb's Wife hath been fled into the 〈◊〉 and left Childless without Seed the other the Whore hath â—… and brought forth many Children taken great Pleasure in the 〈◊〉 and committed Fornication with the Kings of the Earth And these thing◠〈◊〉 saw were to come to pass and we see that have Iohn's Spirit is come to pass already And 〈◊〉 all ye Sects upon the Earth and Churches so called that have been in the World for many Ages Which of those two Women are you of 〈◊〉 the Seed of whether of them are ye Who of these two was it that brought you forth answer me and make it appear But I have said already The Virgin brought you not forth the Lamb's Wife did not bear you nor you are not of her for you were brought forth while she was baniâ—hed and deprived of her Heir and without her Husband and you are of the Seed of that Whore the product of her Fornications generated by the seed of Adulrerers And though you have been warning and fighting and striving one against another yet you were bred in one womb and are of one seed And thouâ—â—â—â—me of you in one appearance of the Whore's beauty brought forth have made War against them brought forth in another appearance of her and â—â—â—ned her flesh yet have ye given your power to the Beast and Iohn saw that also which we see is fulfilled Some that should hate the Whore and make War against her yet shâ—uld they also give their power to the Beast This have we seen fulfilled amongst
you Sects and false Churches and your beginning we know and the first beginning of Whoredom and when the Whore began with her Fornications since which time all Nations have drunk her Cup and her scent has been upon Nations and Multitudes and Peoples Her first Whoredom Iohn speaks of in his Epistle and her beginning They went out from the Body from the Spouse and from the Virgin they went out from the true Church being false Members not as ever being of the Body of Christ nor of the true Church but such as had been amongst the Members of the true Church and were once convinced which had got the Form and put on Sheep's Clothing upon the Wolvish-nature and here was the beginning of her Whoredom She went from the Spouse and went into the World and the World heard her and received her and they drunk of her Cup and committed Fornication with her and she played the Whore in the Unbelieving World after she departed from the Saints she went out from them and they denyed her and it was manifest she was not of them and this was the beginning of Whoredoms And she was but young yet in her Whoredoms and little in the world and had not yet deceived many but in process of time it came to pass she encreased so mightily that she made all Nations drunk and overcame them Kings and Rulers Bond-men and Free-men they all drunk of her Cup and she became so great that Nations Kindreds Multitudes and Peoples were her Seat her place of Government where she sate Ruler and Queen having Dominion over all and all were bewitched by her and made drunk with her Cup And of this Woman came ye all ye Sects upon Earth and you are the Multitudes Kindreds and Peoples upon which her Seat hath been and over whom she has had her Government And this is she that has drunk the Blood of the Saints and overcome them and the Heir and Seed of the other Woman the Virgin hath long been made war against and killed and slain by this woman and her seed and this hath been the State of the Church for many Ages since the dayes of the Apostles she has been fled and her Seed made war against and killed and her Heir caught up to God and the Nations which should have been ruled by her Heir the Whore has set upon them and the Peoples and the Multitudes which he should have govern'd have been the Seat of the Harlot the Mother of all Abominations And was it not like to be so and how should it be otherwise when the Man-child the Woman's Heir has been caught up to God and he has been as prevailed against and the Remnant of the Woman's Seed made war against and killed and this has been since the dayes of the Apostles And so all you Churches and Sects by what name soever you are known in the World you are the seed of the great Whore and she hath brought you forth while the other Woman has lodged in the Wilderness and remains childless If any man hath an Ear to hear let him hear Now it may be objected unto me and thus may it be said By this Accompt the Church the Lamb's Wife has been prevail'd against by the Whore because it is said She hath killed the Saints the Members of Iesus and of the Church This seems to sheâ— as if the Church of Christ had been prevail'd against but Christ sayes The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against them but she should remain forever and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against her And how do those two things agree it seems doubtful to us may some say Answ. To all this I do answer The true Church the Spouse of Christ in her self was never prevail'd against so as not to be in beeing or that she was not but in her self has remain'd in beeing and not prevail'd against so as not to have a Place or Beeing and Christ's words are true she has had a Place and Beeing to wit in the desart Wilderness which place was prepar'd her of God there to be fed for such a time So she has a Place and has a Beeing though in the Wilderness a place desolate and of mourning So she has not been prevail'd against as that she has not had a Beeing but the Lamb's Wife the Mother of the Heir that which is perfectly so which was and is to be joyn'd to Christ which is of his Flesh and Bones taken out of him that cannot be prevail'd against never was nor never shall be for the Devil nor Satan have nothing in him of whose flesh and Bones she is which is taken out of him and it is as possible for to prevail against him as to prevail against her for she is of him as Eve was of Adâ—â— if any have an Ear to hear they may hear But her Off-spring has been overcome her Seed made War against and her Heir taken away and caught up from her so she not prevail'd against nor overcome though banished into the Wilderness fled thither and there has she fed and had a place and has been left Childless as I have said So the Mother and the Lamb's Wife hath had a Beeing and in her self never prevail'd against nor overcome and Christ's words are true Yet has her Seed been kill'd made War against and overcome as Iohn said and both these are true and this is my Answer and if any have an Ear to hear they may hear though a Parable to the World yet plain to the Seed which now God hath raised and is raising for the Woman again is returning and her Seed again is springing and she is becoming as fruitful as ever and her Glory shall be as great the Light of Heaven shall cloth her and the light of the Night shall be under her Feet as perfectly when she is restored as it was before the Apostacy though People cannot believe this in the Apostacy No Revelation nor immediate Teaching nor Miracles now to be expected cry the Professors and these false Sects and Churches It was extraordinary Times and extraordinary Manifestations were amongst the Apostles and Churches of old say they but the same now are not to be expected nor never to be looked for but thus they are in Blindness and Ignorance and Unbelief But we believe the Glory of this Woman that hath been long fled into the Wilderness and hath been long without Issue while she hathbeen fled shall have the same Fruit and Issue and the same Clothing that she had before she fled When the Whore and her seed is removed from the face of the Earth the Glory of the Lamb's Wife shall be as great her Beauty as fair her Fruit as plentious as before the Whore was and they that believe it not believe not the Scripture for that testifies of the Glory of the Church to be the greatest in the last days as we are sure and certainly know it shall come to pass when
the one is the Word of God but the other is not and this all sober men confess to though thou dost jangle and twist about it with thy lame Arguments to no purpose at all except to shew thy Weakness and Folly And also No man is justified by Christ's Righteousness until he receives it and as he receives it and this thou shalt one day witness For though Righteousness be in him sufficient to justifie yet by it art thou nor any man justified but in the receiving of it and dwelling in it and this shalt thou confess to be truth in the Day of the Lord and in the mean time let me bear thy false censure in calling this Heresie And also a man may be tempted to sin and there may be evil motions to him yet he not being overcome of the Temptation not consenting to the motion of sin it is no sin unto him neither shall sin be imputed to him if he commits it not but he that commits sin though he profess never so much of Justification yet for his sin shall he be condemned and this shalt thou witness in the day of Iudgment Also That there is a Perfection attainable in this life even to be perfect and without sin in Christ Iesus and this I affirm to be the Truth of the Gospel and that wherein the Faith of God's People stands and though thou madest a twisting and a wrangling against it yet it is too strong for thee and in thy wisdom and thy arguments is thy folly and thy weakness seen and Truth stands over thee and thou canst not it nor me reprehend And also That some of the Scriptures were spoken to the World and not to the Saints this I also have sufficiently proved and thou art not able to detect it and all thy snarling in opposition to these things is confounded and thy Arguments made without effect and all whose eyes are open see thee to be of too short a measure and of too weak a capacity to understand the deep things of God which are hidden from thine Eye and them thou savourest not in that wisdom though thou hast the words yet thou art ignorant of the Life and the Life is in dominion over thee and to it must thou submit and lay down thy Crown And from thee am I hidden in that Life and Truth which I do profess And though I be as a Deceiver yet am I true and though I be slandered and reproached and back-bited by thee yet it is for Christ Iesus's sake and for his Truth 's sake and not as an Evil-doer But Friend learn more Wisdom then to judge a man before thou hearest him or to condemn the matter before thou hearest the Proof of it for by these things thou hast not gain'd a good Report but God condemns thee for it and men see thy shame in it and the burden of it one day shalt thou bear even thou and all that own thee in these things And now thy spirit is try'd and it is found too light and cannot stand in Judgement for it is unsavoury and though seperate from the World in appearance yet is thy spirit of the world and reacheth not the knowledge of the things that are eternal but art imagining in thy mind not being guided by that Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures and so thy knowledge is natural and cannot contain Spiritual Things Therefore Friend come down to God's Witness in thee the Light which shews thee sin and convinces thee of evil that Light is thy Teacher if thou lovest it and thy Condemnation if thou hatest it I have divers particulars against thee at a convenient season to manifest thy Folly and Weakness by them And whatever thou judgest me I am a Friend to thy Soul Edw. Burrough Richard Goodgroom held forth at the Dispute at Draton the 18th day of the 11th Moneth 1657. HE said The Letter was the Word and by the Letter he said he meant the thing contained in the Scriptures And when I said I had the Letter in my hand meaniug my Bible but not the thing signified he said But I had the Thing signified And he said People were justified by Christ excluding the New Birth and the Work of Sanctification and Christ justified Sinners as Sinners that is while Sinners remaining in sin At Justice Fortescue's house in the year 1656. he did deny That any was converted to God by a Light within And then I asked If it was not that same Light that converted which gave the Knowledge of God and they confessed Yea and yet did deny That the Light within converted to God though I shewed them that Scripture 2 Cor. 4. 6. which did confound the Deceit At Uxbridge one time he said Christ needed not to have come to have judged the World for there was sin enough in the World to judge it before he came Then I asked If Sin judged the World and he answered Yea and he said They were in the Covenant of God spoken of Nehem. 9. which turned the Law of God behind their backs E. B. A TESTIMONY Concerning the Estate of the True Church What she hath been and what she is Being given forth from the Motion of the Spirit of the Father COncerning the true State of the Church what she hath been and what she is at this day and concerning her Increase and Decrease through Ages and Generations past And her present State is this Returning again out of the Wilderness where she hath long been fed having a place prepared of God Now the Apostle saw her a Woman cloathed with the Sun covered with the Light of Heaven and with the Glory of God having the Moon under her Feet the Light which was ordain'd to rule the Night Thus she was and this was her state in the dayes of the Apostles when many were converted out of Darkness and renewed to be Members of this Church for her Glory shone through the World and she flourished through Nations and this was her state in the Apostles dayes And she travelled to bring forth the Man-Child Christ Jesus which is the Child and Husband of this Woman which was clothed with the Brightness of the Glory of God the elected Spouse of Christ the Lamb's Wife and his Body of his Flesh and of his Bones having Power and Dominion and treading under all contrary And thus was it with her in Generations past whose Seed spring forth as Branches fruitful and glorious But in process of time it came to pass That this Woman the Spouse of Christ his Body the Wife and Mother of this Man-Child she was bereaved of her Beauty and her Garments were taken away her Seed was made War against and was smitten and overcome and she fled into the Wilderness and there hath sate desolate as a Widdow lamenting the loss of her Children and being deprived of her Husband and the Man-Child which should have ruled the Nations For she hath been fled into the Wilderness and her former Beauty
the Waters are dried up which have been the Seat of the great Whore Now though all those Churches and Sects of People are said to be and known to be the Seed of the Whore and not of the Virgin as I have declared and though Nation and Peoples and Multitudes have been all running to Fornication and been deceiv'd and made drunk yet this I have to say In all sorts of People and amongst all those Sects amongst Papists and Protestants and all Sects risen out of them in thousands of people notwithstanding the Darkness and all the Apostacy that hath rul'd in the general yet in some of all Sorts and Sects there hath been a Sincerity and Simplicity and a Desire and Zeal for God and of God in them and amongst them yet the Sincerity Simplicity and Desire which hath stirr'd in some of all Sects it hath no sooner appear'd but it hath been smitten and betray'd by the wicked without and so by the error of Judgment within For even amongst the worst of Sects we know there are some in whom there is Simplicity and Sincerity and Zeal and yet err in Judgment for this is possible and we know it is so with Thousands and ten Thousands at this day There may be a Simplicity and Zeal and Sincerity of Heart and yet err in Judgment and the Judgment not truly guided by the Spirit of the Lord but a false spirit and a false thing even the spirit of Whoredom it self ruling the Judgment and be chief there and this destroys and murders and betrays the Zeal and Simplicity and this is and hath been ever since the dayes of the Apostles great error in Judgment and the Judgment of all those Sects have been mis-guided and misled and a false thing and not the Spirit of the Lord has guided the Judgment and thereby the true Sincerity Zeal and Simplicity hath been enslav'd and held under by reason of the erring in Judgment And the State of such is truly to be lamented where Simplicity is devour'd and Sincerity betray'd and held captive by the Whorish spirit that sits Ruler in Judgment I do not speak of all people of all Sects that they have Zeal and Simplicity but of some people in all Sects and through all these false Churches and so the spirit which hath guided the Judgment that has abased the Zeal and abused the Sincerity and betray'd it so people have been a running running after the Form and blind in Judgment and lost Sincerity and Simplicity that has been betray'd in them though sometime appearing and stirring and so the wrong part in people has fed upon the Form and Appearance and the Seed starved and the Sincerity eaten out and so one Sect hath made this the Rule of their Judgment and another Sect another thing the Rule of their Judgment one cries Tradition another Scriptures another cries The Practice of Saints before us and none of all have been guided in Judgment by the Spirit of the Lord where the Spirit of the Lord is not the only rule of Judgment guiding the Judgment in all things that people that man are in Error and the Sincerity in them has not its free course but bound under with a spirit which is Bondage leads into Bondage And when people come to be turn'd to the Light of Christ in them and receive a measure of the Spirit of the Lord to guide the Judgment then the Sincerity Simplicity Zeal will grow and thrive and be encreased but till then the Good is eaten out that lies under and is oppressed and ever and alwayes the Desire quenched the Sincerity lost the Simplicity betray'd by the spirit of Whoredom which rules the Judgment and these things are manifest in our Age. Therefore all people come out of your Sects and false Churches for the Woman is return'd and returning out of the Wilderness and the Seed shall spring forth as in the dayes of old E. B. THE True State OF CHRISTIANITY Truly Discribed and also Discovered unto all PEOPLE What it was in its Beginning and Purity and what it now is in its Apostacy and Degeneration And here by true Testimony is declar'd to the whole World how and wherein in divers particulars the Christians through all the World so called now are fallen and gone backward and revolted from what the true Christians once were And this sheweth unto all the World the woful State and Condition wherein them that are called Christians now stand being departed and revolted from the Spirit of Christ and from his Teachings And this is given forth that all People may understand concerning the Times and the changing of Times and concerning what hath been what now is and what suddenly cometh to pass in the Earth BEhold and hearken give ear and listen diligently all ye People through the whole World that are called Christians All you I say that go under that name and that bear that name and are named Christians from one end of the Earth to the other through all Nations and Countries whither you are scater'd upon the face of the whole Earth Behold and take notice what the Word of the Lord is unto you and what the Testimony of Christ is towards you all for the Line of true Judgment is laid upon you and the Measuring-Rod is put forth to reach over you and the Servant of the Lord hath viewed your State and Condition and what you were in your beginning and increase and what you now are in your Decrease and woful Apostacy into which you are fallen and degenerated from the Life of Christianity Oh! let your Ears be open to Instruction and regard well what I through the Lord do say unto you even all you and every particular of you under Heaven that make a Profession of Christ in words and are known through the World by that name of Christians hearken I say and consider and remember from whence and into what you are fallen and return and repent The Lord hath with you a Controversie and he will plead with you because of your Back-slidings and Revoltings for you are gone away backward and you are turned aside from the Life of Christ and from his Spirit and are now without that which was the Reason and true Ground of your Name Christian and you have lost the true Character of the Name and now have only the Name without the Life and Power thereof and are dead to Christ and his Life and have a Name to live but are dead and having lost that which gave you a true title to the name of Christian you deserve not that Name nor to be called by the Name of Christ because you are departed from his Spirit And this is to be declared to you in the Name of the Lord that you may take a view of your own estate to the end that you may be awakened to return from whence you are degenerated The Lord had a People in all Generations unto whom he
〈◊〉 practice and also your keeping and setting apart the Saints dayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Holy-dayes and eating with respect to dayes denying of Flesh such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dayes and observing of Dayes and Meats and Drinks and Fasting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 own wills and your Nunneries and keeping Men and Women one frâ—â—â—…ther in secret Houses whether are these things commanded and required 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord from you and we charge you to give us some Example that 〈◊〉 true Church practized such things otherwise if you do not not caâ—â—◠〈◊〉 these your practices from the Scriptures and Example of the Apoâ—… 〈◊〉 you we must deny you and condemn your practiâ—es forever and 〈◊〉 â—…lieve that your Church is the true Church nor you lawful Successors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ly Apostles 9. What you believe concerning the Reign and Government of Câ—… and his coming is He his Reign and Government visible and of this World or invisible and from Heaven and whether Lyars Whoremongers â—…terers Drunkards Man-slayers and contentious Men or any that 〈◊〉 in any Sin or Transgression in the first Nature be of the Kingdâ—◠〈◊〉 Government of Jesus or have any part or portion therein in time to 〈◊〉 â—…ever and how may such ever have part therein and give us yoâ—…â—…ge in these things And also what you hold and profess concerning Eâ—… 〈◊〉 Reprobation that we may know whether your Knowledge and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sound and perfect in these things and to be embraced or condemned and 〈◊〉 10. What is the Man-child that hath been caught up to God and 〈◊〉 the reason of his being caught up and what is the Woman that fled into the Wilderness and what is the reason of her so fleeing and when is the tâ—… is it come or to come that the Man-child hath been caught up aâ—◠〈◊〉 Woman fled and that the Man-child shall come down again and the Wâ—… again return and what is that Beast the first and the second and is â—…s kingdom come or yet to come who reigned over the Kings of the Earth and caused all both small and great to worship him and killed the Saints and overcame them that would not worship him and made war against the Lâ—… and persecuted the Woman's Seed and when is it that the World wondred â—â—ter the Beast is it come or to come Answer these things in plainness 〈◊〉 â—â—mand of you 11. What and who is that great Whore that sits upon many waters with 〈◊〉 the Kings of the Earth commits Fornications and who hath made Nations dâ—… with the Wine of her Fornications and who hath reigned over the 〈◊〉 and Dominions of the Earth and is that Whore come or yet to come 〈◊〉 whether is your Church every whit free from the Fornications of that Whâ—… and will you admit of lawfull trial by your fruits and works and suffer 〈◊〉 men accordingly and whether the whole Church of Rome or any part of 〈◊〉 Dominions be the Multitudes Peoples and Nations and Tongues the Wâ—… on which the Whore sits and whether your Church be wholly free from 〈◊〉 Woman which hath drunk the Blood of Saints and of the Martyrs of Iâ—… and shew us plainly who that Whore is if you can and what is her Flesh and the Fire that must burnt it 12. Whether are the false Prophets and Deceivers come or to come which 〈◊〉 said should come if you say they are come when did they come and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they and how may they be known and what was their first original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of what doth all false Prophets and false Prophecies come is the Church 〈…〉 clear of all the false Prophets and whether is your Ministry in the very 〈◊〉 Power Spirit and Authority which the Apostles were in is its Call and â—…tion the very same is its Maintenance and Practice the very same and is iâ—â— Fruits Effects and End the very same or some other let us know from you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may â—ay you to the Line of true Judgment for all People and Nations â—… â—…ome Friends let us reason a little with you further We are not satisâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bishop of Râ—…e is true and lawful Successor of the Apostle Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Tripple Crown and did Kings Bow and Kneel to him and had 〈…〉 â—â—â—enues and Money out of the Nations as the Pope hath 〈…〉 Pardon 's for Money 〈◊〉 or did any buy Religion of him and did 〈…〉 over mens Consciences and was Peter named Holiness We 〈…〉 you to prove rightly and truly That the Pope doth succeed Peter 〈…〉 Spirit in the same Power and in the same Conversation and that 〈…〉 â—…er-see the Church be justly the same as Peter's was and that he exeâ—…â—…ctly as Peter did 〈…〉 â—…wer us plainly What is the Seed of the Woman and what is the 〈◊〉 the Serpent and is his Head bruised yea or nay And what is the 〈…〉 what is his beginning and what is the kingdom that he is Ruler 〈◊〉 and how is his kingdom to be destroy'd And what is the Flesh of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blood which was before Abraham and how is Christ made under the 〈◊〉 answer me these things 〈◊〉 what is the Death that hath reigned over all and what is the power 〈◊〉 and what is the fruits of that death and when must that death be 〈◊〉 and is it destroyed among you and what was man in his Creation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the ground and what was he that was the very Image of God 〈◊〉 and Female before Adâ—… was formed of the Dust of the Ground or â—…en out of him declare these things plainly if you can and what is 〈◊〉 Transgression and the Curse and whether any can be made free from 〈◊〉 Curse upon the Earth yea or nay and what is the Kingdom of Heaven 〈◊〉 is like a little Leaven and that is like a Net cast into the Sea and what 〈◊〉 which must be leavened and what is that good Fish that must be gatherâ—… into the Vessels and that bad that must be cast away and how doth the 〈◊〉 of Heaven bring the bad out of the Waters to the Shore and why is 〈◊〉 and wherefore and what is the reason that none can enter the Kingdom 〈◊〉 Goâ— nor see it but such as are born again and how is a man born again 〈◊〉 what is that Mothers womb that Iob and all mankind came out of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must return thither again naked and what are the Fig-leaves that â—…vered in Transgression and what is the Covering of the Spirit and 〈◊〉 must be covered and what not and why is it and how comes it to pass 〈◊〉 one and the same thing is sin and wickedness acted by one and the same 〈◊〉 good and just acted by another These things answer to us plainly and 〈◊〉 â—…ve all your Practises and Profession by plain Scripture and give us Exâ—… from Peter and the true Churches that he and they practiced the same 〈◊〉 which the Pope and you do if you would have any to own you otherâ—… 〈◊〉
Joy and Pleasure of this World and in your Exercise spiritual and temporal the spirit that is of this World doth lead you and guide you the spirit of Unrighteousness that leadeth contrary to him and can you be otherwayes deceived or more deceived For you are without God already and want his Peace and the Inheritance of Life Eternal that is in him you want the possession thereof and you are following dead Idols and Vanities which steal away your minds whereby it is manifest that you are deceived For all people upon Earth that are not led by the Spirit into all Truth that have not received the Promise of the Father they are all deceived and cannot be more deceived then they are And so is the Cry in general among people if any one forsake and deny their way of Worship and Religion and Profession be it of what manner or nature soever presently there is a Cry chiefly by the Priests Take heed you be not deceived and you are in Heresie and Error and such like Thus have the Papists cryed against them that have dissented from them and the Prelates cry'd the same and now yoâ— cry the same to them that dissent from you But your Zeal is not so much against Heresie and Error simply so as it is to have your own Sect and Worship upheld and against them that do dissent from you and it hath been Antichrists way since the Apostacy since the dayes of the Apostles to cry Heresie and Error and you are deceived to all that did decline and dissent from him for you may read in the Scriptures Power was given to the Beast to compel all to worship him and all that would not he made War against and had power to kill them and 〈…〉 have the Papistâ— done 〈…〉 against 〈…〉 that denyed their church 〈…〉 the Prâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your cry 〈◊〉 Heresie and Error 〈…〉 deceived who do 〈…〉 church and your ministry and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have you learned â—f your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 church 〈…〉 â—…se all sorts of people â—… That 〈…〉 〈◊〉 and that 〈◊〉 arâ— is 〈…〉 and see how your selves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the spirit of Unrighteoâ—sness â—…ness and Ignorance and a Cloud of Error is over you and 〈◊〉 â—… and the Son of God who is â—…ring now in Majesty and Renoâ—… to 〈…〉 Name over all the Earth and Antichrist's way you have been in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have all to how under his power unto his worship But noâ—… eyes of 〈…〉 are opened and Life and Rigâ—…ness and Truth it self 〈…〉 â—…ung 〈…〉 â—…he Clouds of Dâ—…ness and 〈◊〉 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Unknown God and him you ignorantly worship afâ—… of men 〈◊〉 not afâ—… 〈◊〉 Comâ—…s of God 〈◊〉 〈…〉 of the Fore-fathers is seated in you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Witness and â—… and quencheth the Spirit your old 〈◊〉 Traditiâ—… and 〈…〉 your Exercise therein 〈◊〉 thaâ— part which iâ— carnal and 〈◊〉 〈…〉 others and your Worship which is out of the Spirit of God 〈…〉 Spirit of God in others to 〈◊〉 â—ny truly to the Living 〈…〉 〈…〉 will destroy your Worship and confound it and no more is tâ—… 〈…〉 â—…shipped iâ— Stâ—â—ple-Houses they are left desolate of God's Preâ—… 〈◊〉 more in Dayes and Tiâ—es and Things but they that worshâ—… 〈…〉 〈◊〉 in the Spirit changed by it and led by it into the Truth So 〈…〉 doth open your Eyes you will see the Worship of God to be 〈…〉 thing then you suppose it you cannot be educated naturally in the Worship of God nor learn it by Traditions for it stands only in the Spirit and is taught by the Spirit unto all them that are born of the Spirit and who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be born of that are the true Worshippers of God in which the Father is well pleased And as for your Worship in Steeple-Houses God hath no Delight in he â—…th it not but it is an Abomination to him it is not pleasing to him beâ—…e you be out of his Spirit and worship after your own Traditions 〈…〉 after his Spirit And this worship hath stood all this long time of Anâ—… while the Whore and the Beast hath ruled over Nations and so one Tradition after another hath been brought in and one false Worship hath risen out of another and what people have had it hath been by Tradition and not from the immediate Spirit of God and so the True God hath not been woâ—…d in his Spirit And now all the World have been pleading for theâ—â— Traditions and they be in respect above the Commandments of God among ye that worship in Steeple-houses you are even mad against them that 〈…〉 â—…inst the Steeple-houses and plead the Antiquity of your Worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your Traditions and Ordinances now they are ancient even as anciâ—…â—s since the false Prophets and Antichrist came in and did put on the Shâ—… Clothing but inwardly ravening Wolves these killed the Life and slew the Prophets and they set up Inventions of their own and your Traditioâ—… and Worships are as ancient as since power was given to the Beast over Kindreds and Peoples and the Lord God is bringing down your Worship the Original of which came up when Antichrist went out into the World as you may read in Iohn's Epistle and so you may plead Antiquity yet not as ancient as the True Church is for when the truâ— Churches were apostatized then came up your Worship and your many Traditions and this hath been while the Woman hath been fled into the Wilderness and the Man-child caught up to God which when the Woman returns again your worship ordinance will be over-thrown and the True Worship again established and Liberty but first you must know the Spirit to teach you before you can worship in it and the Spirit must purifie your Hearts and make them 〈◊〉 before you can offer to God an acceptable Sacrifice for your Sacrifices are not acceptable but they are stained and polluted in the fight of the Lord who 〈◊〉 hath beheld what you are a doing and you are in that which his Soul hath no Pleasure in and in the Day of your â—…ation the Witness in your Consciences shall answer it so you are to know God by his Spirit before you can worship him the Word of the Lord must be 〈◊〉 in your Hâ—â—rtâ— as a 〈◊〉 as a Hamâ—… and 〈◊〉 muâ—â— be crâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aâ—d have 〈…〉 Spirit â—…ore ye can 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So all you false Worshippers you are called that you may return and may come into the True Worship which is in tâ—â— Commandment of God and not the Traditions of 〈◊〉 and in that Law written in the Hearâ— is God knownâ— who worketh man's Salvation 〈◊〉 which leadeth in the true and perfect Worship of the True and Living God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord 〈…〉 all in aâ—… Thâ—…efâ—… retuâ—… Why wiâ—… yoâ—…ye aâ—â— perish 〈◊〉 your 〈…〉 A 〈…〉 â—…n is taâ—â—n uâ—â—… Oâ—… why 〈◊〉 you â—â—rish â—…ough 〈…〉 yoâ—◠〈◊〉 Sâ—… tiâ—… Câ—… into the Spâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Truth that you may â—…ship
I say would not many Sects ere this day have prevailed one against another had not the Powers of the Earth stopped and limitted whom they would and given liberty to set up whom they would But now the Light of the Day is arisen and hath appeared and the Lord is making a Way to establish his own Religion by his own Power and he is gathering his Seed who shall wax stronger and stronger and shall prevail through all Opposition through all false Sects and false Worships of the Earth and they shall wax weaker and weaker and shall never be established in Righteousness but they and the Power that upholds them shall be broken together and this will the Lord bring to pass in his Day And thus I have shewed you what true Religion is and how it cannot be established and how it may be and what the Authority of earthly Rulers is and how far it extends and do shew that true Religion cannot be settled thereby but by the Lord alone it must and that it is the Work of Christ's Ministry and not of earthly Power by violent Laws to establish Religion And this is a testimony from the Lord God of Heaven and Earth to ye Rulers and Parliaments that make Laws and minister Laws meddle not with Religion to establish one Sect or Sects and to limit and throw down others but fear the Lord God and wait for his Wisdom and remember that that hath been a Rock whereupon many before you have been split and brought into confusion even when they have gone about to limit or stop or establish Religion how have they been confounded and never had success from the Lord to such endeavors for the Lord hath never shewed countenance for many Generations to such as have attempted to make men religious by outward Laws and to settle Nations therein by outward Laws Wherefore now be wise ye Rulers and kiss the Son for the Wrath of the Lord is already kindled and he will break in pieces and dash Babylon's Children against the Stones and confound the great Whore the false Church and all false Sects her Daughters who have been brought forth and set up in Nations ever since the Woman the true Church hath been fled into the Wilderness and the Beast hath carried the Whore born her and upheld her and she hath journeyed through Nations upon the Beast and the Beast hath defended her if any man hath an Ear let him hear and this is a Visitation to ye Rulers and to all that make Laws and minister Laws By a Friend to Righteous Men. E. B. Satan's Design DEFEATED In a Short Answer to a Manuscript sent by a Priest out of Sussex to a Member of this present Parliament full of railing Accusations whereby he hath secretly smitten the Innocent by a secret desiring the Persecution of the People of God But herein his Folly and Madness doth appear that while he hath accused others falsly himself is found guilty of the same thing With Invitations of Love to the present Authority that they may save themselves from being the Executioners of the Priests malice least the Lord destroy them A Certain Paper being come to my hand which is said to be written by one Priest Iackson and sent to a Member of Parliament containing divers Particulars charged as Errors upon the dispised People called Quakers wherein he saith he hath set down some of their Tenents which they maintain unto which Manuscript I am moved to write something in answer as to clear the Truth from his foul Aspertions which he casts upon it to the intent that the said Member of Parliament and the whole House may be better satisfied and resolved wherein they doubt of every Particular that the Truth may appear when as the foul Vail of the Darkness and Slanders is removed That the Holy Scriptures are not the Word of God nor the Saints Rule of Faith and Life neither is it the duty of every one to search them Answ. The Holy Scriptures that were given forth by the Spirit of the Lord as holy men of God were moved they are the Words of God and a Declaration and a Treatise Luke 1. 1. and that which the Saints had handled and tasted of the Word of Life that they declared forth in Words and Writings Acts 1. 1. and the Scriptures as they were given forth by the Spirit of God are a true Declaration of what is to be believed and practised in relation to eternal Salvation It is a true Testimony concerning God and his mighty Works and of Truth and Righteousness and it is a Testimony also of the Devil and what he is and of his Deceits and Errors and Uâ—righteousness so the Scriptures are Words given forth by the Spirit but Christ is the Word that was before the Scriptures were for in the begining was the Word of God and the World was made by it and the Word shall endure for ever and Christ's Name is called the Word of God And though the Scriptures are profitable and were given forth to be read and to be fulfilled yet they are not the Rule and Guide of Faith and Life unto the Saints but the Spirit of God that gave forth the Scriptures that is the Rule and Guide the Teacher and Leader into all Truth and them that are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God and if you walk in the Spirit saith the Apostle you shall live and as many as walk acording to this to wit of the Spirit Peace is upon them and so the Spirit of God is the Rule of the Saints Faith and Life and the Spirit leads them to walk in the fulfilling of the Scriptures and according to them And as for all the Priests in England who do profess the Scriptures to be their Rule out of their own Mouthes will God judge them who are found walking contrary to the Scriptures in Life and Doctrine and Practises while they cry it up for their Rule and condemn all that will not say as they â—ay And the last part of this Proposition is utterly false for we never do assert that it is not the duty of every one to search them but we bid every one search the Scriptures and every one ought to search them but yet we say that none understands them but who have the Spirit that gave them forth nor none can profit thereby but by the Spirit that gave them forth which works the same Truth in the Heart which the Scriptures without declare of and this I do affirm they are the Words of God and the Spirit of God is the Rule of Faith and Life to the Saints and all men ought to search the Scriptures and to believe what is therein written and to receive and enjoy Christ who is the Substance and the End of all Things the first and last the beginning and ending and in him the Scriptures are fulfilled and finished They do deny the Doctrine of the Trinity and that Christ
from his devouring Lips And as for any other thing in his Paper it is not worth answering to nor worth minding but his wickedness will turn upon his own head and he shall bear the burthen of his own words onely he queries whether this be not the Pestilence that walks in Darkness And the Flouds that the Dragon hath cast out of his Mouth to drown the Woman Is not this the mark of the Beast who opened his Mouth in Blasphemy And are not these the Unclean Spirits that came out of the Mouth of the Dragon and out of the Mouth of the false Prophet Answ. Now the Pestilence that walks in Darkness is the Plague that is out of the Light Sin and Death and Misery which smites the Ungodly and he sees it not And the Floods which the Dragon cast out is the Floods of Persecution and Cruelty viz. The imprisoning until death and spoiling peoples Goods for Tythes and Money as the Priests have done And the Dragon gave power to the Beast that compell'd all to worship and that carried the Whore the false church and the true Church has bin fled into the Wilderness for many Generations and the false church the Whore has sate as a Queen and given her cup to drink the false church of Rome and the false church of the Protestants all which are of the Whore these have all been carried by the Beast which the Dragon gave his power to and they have all persecuted the Woman the true Church the Mark of the Beast he compell'd people to receive compell'd them to worship and they open their mouthes in Blasphemy that deny Christ and deny the Light and that say they are Iews and are not this is Error and Blasphemy which the Beast opens his mouth in against the Saints and against them that dwell in Heaven and the unclean spirits are the spirits of Devils that are out of the Truth and these the Dragon casts our in Slanders and Reproaches and Lyes such as this Author has done and of that Generation is he Christ said False Prophets should come and Iohn saw in his dayes they were come and he saw the world gone after them of that Generation are you and now the Lord is gathering people from you again and Babylon must fall and all her Merchants howl and weep and these things have been which the Scripture speaks of the Woman is now coming out of the Wilderness again and the Whore must be rewarded and sorrow is coming upon her as she has done unto the Saints so shall the Saints do unto her And in the Conclusion he saith Worthy Sir to this Member of Parliament it will be your Honour to stand in the Gap to stop the violence of this Hellish Torrent that is so high that it sounds from Dan to Beersheba and threatens Iudgment to our Israel c. Answ. Here is the Conclusion of thy matter which is the sum of it a running to the Powers of the Earth for help what have you Ministers lost the Lord to be your strength that you must flee for help to men to defend you from the Spirit of God in his People Must they make Laws to establish you and set you up Is not this the Whore that road upon the Beast and that the Beast carries Is not here a Description of her out of the mouth of this Author Is he crying to you to persecute the Innocent It is true the Seed of God is risen the Elect Seed that is able to make War against the Beast and against the false Prophets even with the Word of the Lord and is he offended that Truth is risen so high and would he have some Fire and Faggot again in Smithfield and some Persecution and Banishment acted upon the People of God Is this the standing in the Gap and stopping Violence or would he have it done this way Yea Judgments indeed are threatned to your Generation for if God will not destroy you soon enough you will destroy your selves and your own Iniquity will be upon you and the wickedness of the Wicked shall slay him But my Counsel is not only to that particular Member but to the whole Body of them That they be wise and take heed what they do for the Eye of the Lord is over you and his Hand can dash you in pieces and if you be Oppressors of the People of God and will not relieve the Oppressed the Innocent and break the Bonds of Oppression the Lord will break you in pieces for this is the Rock that hath broken all before you Persecuting people for Conscience sake and if you go in this way your Destruction shall be the most lamentable of any that was ever yet before you Do you not yet see the Wickedness of this Generation will you yet contend for them Surely you might learn Wisdom even by their Folly and if you do not shut your eyes there needs no more discovery then their own present wayes and works Wherefore consider the Day of God's Visitation is upon you make good use of your time lest the Lord breaks you down and never build you up and let the Spirit of the Lord have its Liberty and limit it not for if you do you shall never prosper nor never be made a Blessing unto the people under your Charge Remember you are warned by a Lover of your Souls ANd Friends Great Things hath the Lord done in these Nations in your dayes and that by the Face of your Authority and there has a Spirit stirred in some of you and in the Army which the Lord hath appear'd with and yet the Work of the Lord is not finished but greater things then these hath the Lord to accomplish amongst us and in this Nation and these things that have come to pass have been but as the preparing of the way for the bringing about of greater things It is true many Mountains have been removed and some Oppressions taken off and excellent things have bin promised and doubtless by some of you really intended but alas the Work hath long remain'd unfinished and many of your best Friends are almost weary with waiting to receive the end of their Hopes and Desires and many are even fainting concerning the Good Old Cause though of late it hath seem'd to be revived by you yet it goes but easily forwards and even so little is its growth since your late Meeting that many are thinking themselves to be in a deceiv'd condition by you Why They see that wicked Clergy's Interest more prospering then the just Freedom of the People And this I say unto you in the Name of the Lord That while that Interest of this false Priesthood I mean is so much favoured and defended you can never prosper nor the Nations be ever happy under you for it is one of the greatest Oppressions this day in the Nation the maintaining and upholding of this Ministry by Tythes and other unrighteous Wages and the
not doubting but he is sufficient to say something in the Case only may mind him with many others of his Principles and Familiarity how they have cryed out Phanaticks against such as have differed from them and this not long since and now themselves are under the same Reproach by others as they have reproached others and now he and they are reckoned the Modern Phanaticks and no better 3. What can possibly be the Author's Intent in his proceedings First in relating of the burning destroying and martyring of the Martyrs whom he wickedly calleth Aâ—â—ions Phanaticks And then Secondly in intimating the Protestants now living to be Phanaticks by this Paralel the purpose and end of the man must needs be That he would have Fire and Faggots up again Burning and Martyring up again in England and all that shall differ from that Man's Way whom we find by Calculation to be chiefly a Papist should be burnt martyred and destroyed now again as in the dayes of Queen Mary this effect would follow and this Semper Iidem is but a little Item or Intimation before-hand cryed up and down London to prepare its own spirit where it shall meet with it into Fary and Rage even to the destroying of all the Protestants And as this 〈◊〉 â—â—dem may possibly work such an effect among the People of that spirit 〈◊〉 love to murder and burn for difference in Religion It may also and ought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an effect in the other Party to be considerate and diligent and to reâ—…d the signs of the Times even the sign of Semper Iidem which seems to be â—…tle Black-stur predicting a bad Effect if the course of Heaven alter it not again And Semper Iidem is indeed to be taken notice of in London because the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 for above an hundred Years nor any one ever durst to appear 〈◊〉 such a publication of villifying the Protestant Martyrs with Reproaches and 〈◊〉 of Rebels Seditious men and Phanaticks as this Nameless Author 〈◊〉 done which gives us cause to say The Times are changed and may yet 〈◊〉 further if the Effects of Semper Iidem be not diverted for the Effects of his work is to bring all to the Fire Faggot and Martyrdom that shall differ from the Church of Rome of whom the Author is a Member as by all signs â—â—d tokens doth appear Thirdly I shall now shew how this spirit in the Papists that burnt the Martyrs which is the same spirit that endited Semper Iidem that is again moving its Countenance now adayes I shall shew how that spirit was not nor is of Christ but of Antichrist and the Devil 1. IT was not the way of Christ and his Apostles neither did they give Command or President for it to kill burn or destroy their Enemiec and such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hereticks as the false Christians 〈◊〉 and as the Papists did in Queen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who burned and destroyed many hundreds of the Protestants who 〈◊〉 them in their Profession and Practices of Religion and this was not 〈◊〉 way for he commanded To love Enemies and not to kill them and it was 〈◊〉 He did Good for them them did Evil 〈◊〉 him and so did his Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was no such thing in the Churches of Christ in the Apostles dayes as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 burning of Hereticks and putting them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Crâ—â—â— Torments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and his Apostles did convince 〈◊〉 sâ—…rs by Love and 〈◊〉 Doctrine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 walk peaceably towards all their Enemies and did not sâ—â—k their 〈◊〉 not to be revenged 〈◊〉 their Persecutors but the Papists and 〈◊〉 contrary to Christ's Doctrine and Example do burn and kill and destroy their Enemies such whom they judge to be in Error though yet their Iudgment be utterly false and their killing and burning grounded upon such Iudgment and this hath been the Papists way of proceeding as is related in Semper Iidem wherein is mentioned the burning and destroying of a great number of such as they then called Hereticks whom Semper Iidem now calls Antient Phanaticks and he hath justified their Martyrdom to be Right and condemned the Martyred as Phanaticks and this is published in London 2. All Persecution about Religion and killing and burning for difference in matters of spiritual things hath been and is of the Devil and Antichrist both in the Papists and other false Christians though it hath long been practised in the World for to destroy the Workmanship of God the Persons and Creatures by Fires and Cruel Torments This is not of God but of the Devil especially when it is done upon such an unjust occasion as to destroy mens Persons by cruel tortures for the Error of their Minds This is of the Beast and Dragon spoken of in the Revelations For the Beast killed all that would not worship him Revel 13. for it was the Dragon that persecuted the Woman the true Church and made War with the Rèmnant of her Seed and cast floods out of his Mouth after the Woman had brought forth the Man-Child and he persued her into the Wilderness and then he gave power to the Beast his Seat and his great Authority as you may read and then that Beast to whom the Dragon gave Authority forced all to worship him and killed all that would not worship him and made War against them and overcame them And so it is manifest that this Practice which the Papists and false Christians have used of burning and killing all such as will not worship after their manner is of the Devil the Dragon and Antichrist and hath no foundation in God but is of the wicked One to all Intents and Purposes And thus I have shewed the Papists Practices in Queen Maries dayes and at all times before and since of burning and destroying of such as differ from them in religious Matters are of the Devil and Antichrist though the Author of Semper Iidem seems to justifie the Death of the Martyrs and hath reproachfully villified them about an hundred years after they are dead by the scornful Name of Phanaticks Fourthly I shall now shew something concerning the Cause of the Publication of Semper Iidem which the Author saith is from the late Insurrection in London and comparing them with their Predecessors he thought fit to publish the same as in his Epistle NOw in answer to this As for the Insurrection in London I shall not justifie it nor speak a word in vindication of the said Persons Proceedings but shall leave them without giving my Judgment upon them further than this That it was an Evil Occasion administred against such as were no way guilty thereof who are deeply suffering this day Imprisonment and Persecution and their Peaceable Meetings broken up and they violently dealt withal in many particulars and onely upon the occasion of that Insurrection aforesaid And how Unjust it is let all the World judge that any should suffer for the Faults of others And how Unequal it is that many should be Imprisoned
weight thereof as to encourage such a Work of value and worth for many know what a great Sufferer F. H. was and how he lay many years in a bad Prison at Appleby in Westmoreland for the Testimony of Jesus and of a good Conscience for that he could not Swear so that in the same Prison under the Hands of his Persecutors he cheerfully and with much Satifaction and Peace gave up his Life and ended his Dayes in Peace Oh! the remembrance of these two Faithfull Witnesses who both died Sufferers being Prisoners for Truth is never to be forgotten And thus Dear Friends as the Salutation of our dear Brother E. B. according to his desire while in the Body I recommend unto you this Volumn of his Books with my Love in the Truth to you all being therein The Truth 's and your Servant and Friend Ellis Hookes London the 1st of the 2d Moneth 1672. THE EPISTLE TO The Reader TO all the World to whom this may come to be Read that they read with a good understanding and hereby they may come to the perfect knowledge of the ground of difference between the Priests and Professors and all Sects in these Nations and Us who are in scorn called Quakers shewing that the Controversie on our part is just and equal against them all and that we have sufficient cause to cry against them and to deny their Ministry their Church their Worship and their whole Religion as being not in the Power and by the Spirit of the Living God as commanded of him or ever practiced by his Saints But this declareth the ground and Foundation thereof to be another thing and not the same on which the true Church and Ministry and Practice and Worship and true Religion was builded in the days of the Apostles And also this is an Invitation to all Sects and Professions of People to come forth and try if what they hold and profess be according to the Scriptures of truth and to do this in tryal by evident and sound Arguments and by the best spiritual Weapons they have and to lay aside all this Persecution and unrighteous Dealing and Stocking and Whipping and Imprisoning of us for speaking against their Religion and that they come forth in fair dispute to contend in the Spirit of meekness for what they Profess and Practice and to prove according to the Scriptures their Ministry Church and whole Religion that it is in and by the Spirit and Power of God or otherwise to renounce and deny all their Religion and the Profession and Practices thereof that every man may be satisfied who it is that are in the true and right Way and of the true Worship and true Religion and who it is that are not and this is desired by us who are called Quakers and also a true Account of our first beginning and coming forth in the World and of that great Sufferings we have sustained and how we have been carried on and are preserved to this day The Lord God everlasting who is true and faithful hath fulfilled his promise in us and unto us and we are gathered from the Mouths of all dumb Shepherds and out of the mouths of all Hirelings who have made a prey upon us and fed themselves with the fat and devoured souls for dishonest gain And we are come to the Fold of Eternal Rest where Christ Jesus is the chief Shepherd and he is the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls that feedeth his Flock with living Bread that nourisheth us unto Life Eternal he hath called us by his Name and put us forth and he feedeth us in green Pastures and we are fed with hidden Manna and lie down at Noon with his gathered Flock and out of Nations Kindreds Multitudes and Peoples are we redeemed to God and are come out of the World and out of great Babylon and out of spiritual Sodom and Egypt where the Lord Christ was and is crucified and lieth slain to this day and a top of the World hath the Lord set us on the Mountain of his own House and Dwelling where we behold and feel the Life and Glory and Crown of the World that hath no end and the world that hath an end is seen over and its crown and glory is his Footstool that reigns amongst us And as for all that which this perishing world brings forth which men seek after only it s reckoned our temptation though all the Sons of Adam are seeking its glory its riches its crowns its contentments but of that Birth are we which hath no crown no glory nor rest under the Sun and a Birth is brought forth amongst us which is Heir of another Kingdom and Possessor of another Crown whose glorying is in the Lord all the Day long and he is our Refuge our Rock and our Fortress against all our Enemies and what though the Wicked arm themselves and the Ungodly bend their Bow what though all sorts of People from the Prince upon his Throne to the Beggar upon the Dunghil exalt themselves against the despised People of the Lord's Inheritance who for his Name 's sake are kill'd all the day long What though the Wise-men bring forth their Arguments and what though the Rulers bring forth unrighteous Judgments against the Seed that God hath blessed what though the Revilers and Scorners open their mouthes and Reproachers and Revilers cast out their bitter words as a Flood against the Remnant of the Woman's Seed that has long been fled into the Wilderness And what then if the Teachers the Prophets and the Elders and the Heads and Wise men of the World set themselves to pray and preach and print against the chosen Seed of Iacob yet notwithstanding all this though this is come to pass and Hell open her Mouth and her Floods break forth to overflow and be much more increased yet shall the King of Righteousness rule among his People and his Presence will not forsake his chosen Ones but the Lord is with us a Mighty and Terrible One and the shout of a King is amongst us and the Dread and Terror of the Almighty covereth us and it goeth before us and compasseth us about And the Lord is working a Work in the Earth mighty and wonderful he is gathering the Scattered and binding up the Broken-hearted and his People shall dwell in safety and none shall make them afraid and no Weapon that is formed against them shall prosper nor no Hand that is lifted up shall prevail for Sion shall rise out of the Dust her beautiful Garments shall be put on and Mourning and Sorrow shall flee away and her Light is risen that is everlasting and the Sun shall never godown but his day shall remain for ever and the Night shall not again cover her brightness nor the Sun set upon her habitations the City that hath long laid waste shall again be builded and the dwelling that hath long been without Inhabitant shall be replenished for the numberless seed of
whom her rule was great like as a stately Queen For Ages by-past its now seen She hath her Whoredoms plaid And Kingdoms have bewitched been And have her power obey'd But now it s seen she shan't deceive Her Witchcrafts they are known And men no more will her believe her Misery is shown And now the wofull Bed I see of Torments great prepar'd Whereon she shortly cast must be and Plagues must not be spar'd But wo to her the wrathfull Cup is fill'd she others gave She must it now her self drink up the same she now must have And drink she must and that full deep of God's fierce Indignation And then shall all her Lovers Weep and make great Lamentation The City also I have seen which once was great and fair Destroy'd and soon laid waste hath been her Merchants did dispair Who by her got great gain and trade to make them rich withall And trafficks from far she had but now lament they shall For Fire in her is kindled bright which must her all consume And up to Heaven day and night ascendeth up her fume And Antichrist who ravened from Truth within the Light Was with Sheeps Clothing covered and rul'd Kings by his might Who had laid waste God's Heritage and had a Kingdom great The Saints against him war did wage and Truth gave him defeat Behold the Whore's Flesh burnt I've seen her beauty doth now fall All Harlots Mother she hath been her Daughters are Whores all Behold the City great and fair she 's fallen to the ground By which Nations inriched were in her no profits found Behold the Antichrist once great his Kingdom 's near laid waste The Lord will bring him from his Seat the day comes on in haste Christ's Kingdom 's coming on with speed the Lord alone will reign He will for aye exalt his Seed o'er Antichrist and 's Train The Woman I have seen return the Wilderness did take A place where she did greatly mourn and rest she there did take The springing of her Seed I 've seen the Man child now must sway By'm Nations have replenisht been for evermore I say Then Praises to the Heavenly King when come to pass this shall Oh then do ye rejoyce and sing ye Saints and Prophets all When God shall pour his Vengeance great to cause our Enemies Fall Then is the Day of Praises meet for Saints both great and small E. B. THis Epistle was by E. B. prefixed to a Book of Fox's in Folio Entituled The Great Mystery of the Great Whore unfolded published in the year 1659. which though some of it related to that Book yet it being B's Epistle and much of it of a more general Concernment it was judged meet to be here inserted and published with the rest FRANCIS HOWGIL's TESTIMONY Concerning the Life Death Tryals Travels and Labours of Edward Burrough That Worthy Prophet of the LORD SHall dayes or months or years wear out thy Name as though thou hadst had no being Oh nay Shall not thy noble and valiant Acts and mighty Works which thou hast wrought through the power of him that separated thee from the Womb live in Generations to come Oh yes the children that are yet unborn shall have thee in their Mouths and thy Works shall testifie of thee in Generations who yet have not a being and shall count thee blessed Did thy Life go out as the snuff of a Candle Oh nay thou hast penetrated the hearts of many and the memorial of the just shall live for ever and be had in renown among the Children of Wisdom for ever for thou hast turned many to righteousness and shall shine as a Star of God in the Firmament of God's Power for ever and ever and they that are in that shall see thee there and enjoy thee there though thou be gone away hence and can no more be seen in mutability yet thy Life and thy Spirit shall run parallel with Immortality Oh Edward Burrough I cannot but mourn for thee yet not as one without hope nor Faith knowing and having a perfect testimony of thy well-being in my heart by the Spirit of the Lord yet thy absence is great and years to come shall know the want of thee Shall I not lament as David did for a worse man then thee even for Abner when in wrath he perished by the hand of Ioab without any just cause though he was a valiant man David lamented over Abner and said Dyed Abner as a fool dyeth Oh nay he was betrayed of his Life even so hast thou been bereaved of thy life by the hand of the Oppressor whose Habitations are full of cruelty Oh my soul come not thou within their secret for thy blood shall be required at the hands of them who thirsted after thy life and it shall cry as Abels who was in the Faith even so wert thou it shall weigh as a ponderous Milstone upon their Necks and shall crush them under and be as a Worm that gnaweth and shall not dye When I think upon thee I am melted into tears of true sorrow and because of the want that the Inheritance of the Lord hath of thee my substance is even as dissolved Shall I not say as David said of Saul and Ionathan when they were slain in Mount Gilboa The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places Even so wast thou stified in nasty Holes and Prisons and many more who were precious in the Eyes of the Lord And surely precious wast thou to me Oh dear Edward I am distressed for thee my brother very pleasant hast thou been to me and my love to thee was wonderful passing the love of Women Oh thou whose Bow never turned back neither Sword empty from the Blood of the Slain from the slaughter of the Mighty who made Nations and Multitudes shake with the Word of Life in thy Mouth and wast very dreadful to the Enemies of the Lord for thou didst cut like a Rasor and yet to the Seed of God brought forth thy words dropped like Oyle and thy Lips as the Honey-comb Thou shalt be recorded among the Valiants of Israel who attained to the first Degree through the Power of the Lord that wrought mightily in thee in thy day and wast worthy of double honor because of thy Works sake thou wast expert to handle thy Weapon and by thee the Mighty have fallen and the Slain of the Lord have been many many have been pricked to the heart through the. Power of the Word of Life and Coals of fire from thy Life came forth of thy Mouth that in many a Thicket and among many Bryars and Thorns it came to be kindled and did devour much Stubble that cumbered the Ground and stained the Earth Oh how certain a sound did thy Trumpet give And how great an Alarum didst thou give in thy day that made the Host of the Uncircumcised greatly distressed What man so valiant though as Goliah of Gath would not thy Valour have encountered with
people and by them being deceived in some particular things naming onely three things the first whereof is That godliness being a Mystery that it did consist of something within and not of something without and that the Saints were to expect life and salvation from a Christ within and not from a Christ without I answer Godliness is a mystery the Image of God which is Godliness is a mystery hidden from the eye of I. Turner and from all vulterous eyes and this mystery is within in life and power consisting of the new man Christ Jesus who is the Image of God made manifest within the Saints in whose Image man is like God godly and this mystery is not in outward things in word or declaration or outward practice though where this mystery is made manifest godly practises will flow from it to without but yet the power life and mystery of godliness is within and cannot be seen with the carnal eye not comprehended with the carnal mind And here I charge I. Turner in the presence of God that she knowes not the mystery of Godliness who blasphemously calls this a corrupt Principle and here it is made manifest that she is in Babylon yet and is deceived and bewitched by the Devill I bear witness to the truth and to this particular and against her who denyes it And the Saints have Life and Salvation from Christ made manifest within which is the same Christ which suffered without and this I affirm that till Christ be revealed within there is no Salvation nor Life partaked of The Scripture saith they were Reprobates in whom Christ was not And the Apostle said Christ in you the hope of glory and Christ lived in him which was his â—ife and Salvation Where Christ is not made manifest within the Serpent is Head and the Devil is King in the heart and this I witness and do declare it as in the presence of God that till Christ was made manifest within me I was not saved nor had no life as to God though I was high in Profession and Knowledge outwardly And here again I. Turner hath shewed forth her blindness and sottishness to all and may stop her mouth for shame and confess that she is a bondslave in Babylon who calls this a corrupt Principle which is the Way Power and Life of Religion and Salvation which is Christ Jesus within made manifest in the Saints which takes away Sin and destroys the Works of the Devil and she and all others who walks and lives in the flesh following the lusts and desires of it living to their own wills in the broad-way and talks of Salvation by any thing without will be deceived for nothing will present to God but the Righteousness of Jesus Christ revealed which takes away sin and sets free from it And now for the second Principle That Saints were not to do duties by or from a commmand without but from a command within and that the Word command in Scripture was not a command to them till they had a Word within them I answer That is no command from God to me what he commands to another neither did any of the Saints which we read of in Scripture act by the command which was to another not having the command to themselves I challenge to find an example for it they obeyed every one their own command one was sent to Baptism and to Preach the Gospel another was sent not to Baptize but to Preach the Gospel And thou I. Turner or any other who goes to duty as you call it by imitation from the Letter without which was commands to others in your own wills and time your sacrifice is not accepted but is abomination to the Lord for you go without the moving of the Spirit in your own wills and strength which God hates and which his wrath is upon And I charge her here as in the presence of the Lord that she knows not what a command from God in Spirit is but is ignorant and not a daughter of Sion and let her mouth be stopped and let shame strike her in the Face who professes her self to know the Lord and let all be ashamed of her who professes themselves members joyned with her in Church she hath made manifest the ignorance of them all Now for the third particular That as to the time of doing duties they were to wait for the moving of the spirit to carry them forth to it and this they called Wayting for a power and till they had such a power they were to do nothing but sit still and wait and this not onely in private duties but in Church also not owning any Ministery by way of gifts of Office but to come together and there sit still and wait till they had a power and then to speak whether man or woman I answer who dare call this a Principle of deceit none but who are led by deceit and such is I. Turner who puts light for darkeness and darkeness for light all duties as she calls them whatsoever if the moving of the Spirit do not carry forth to act them then the movings of the corrupt will and vain mind carries forth and who act from such Principles are accursed from God And I. Turner and all who denies to wait for the movings of the power of the Spirit to carry forth but goes before the moving of it all their Prayers Preachings Ordinances and Churches I do deny and declare against by the Eternal Spirit of God that they are odious and abomination in the eye of the Lord and is no duty which he accepts whether they be done in private or in the Church And that Ministery which is not carried forth by the moving of the Spirit of God but of man and in the will of man which Ministry is hated of God and she which denies waiting upon God till power be given in from God to act and speak for God hath denied the way of God and the practice of the Saints in former Generations and wo is unto her who makes the simple believe this to be deceit Whereas she saith in these particulars which carried such a face or shew of spirituality she was corruped but did never fully own them in judgement nor practice I answer O blind deceived spirit which calls these but a shew or face of spirituality she calls the substance a shew and the shew or likeness a substance And wo unto her which calls good evil and evil good these particulars by the eternal spirit I own and walk in but that spirit of deceit and Antichrist in her hath denied them and calls them deceiveable and saith by them she was corrupted let her be ashamed and all of her Faction it was the Principle which led her from these things by which she was corrupted and which hindered her to own them and practice them and which now makes her declare against them which Principle is the spirit of the false Prophet which now rules
of Iacob The Lord is your God for ever while you be his People Therefore walk before him in Righteousness and let his own works praise him and give him of his own and glorifie him with it eternally Be low in thy heart and be not exalted because of thy Beauty and Riches and glory not but only in the Lord Be diligent in thy mind and watch against all thy Enemies and be not of a careless heart Eat not of the Vine of Sodom nor drink not of the Cup of Whoredoms give not thy strength to Strange women nor let not thy desirable Beauty be overcome of Harlots but keep thy self undefiled and mingle not thy Seed with Strangers but be fruitful in thy pleasant Land upon thy beautiful Mountain and bring forth aboundantly unto thy God who hath turned thy Wilderness into a fruitful Field and taken away thy reproach of Barrenness in Conversation upright and blameless do thou daily appear in Praises and Honour and Fear do thou abound and let thy God be thy Teacher in his Light and Truth for evermore that thy Enemies may see and be confounded and may behold and be ashamed before thee unto whom thy Rock of defence is a stumbling Stone of Offence wherewith the Kingdoms of the Earth shall be dashed to pieces and broken as a Potters Vessel before thee Come forth in thy Beauty and appear in thy Glory to the Nations Arise arise why shouldst thou sit as alone as in obscurity and darkness undiscovered Let the Princes of the Earth see thy excellency and appear before the Nobles in thy Robes of perfect Honour wherewith thou art decked and trimed as a Bride pleasant unto thy Husband Do thou judge among the Judges and give thy counsel among the Prudent and appear in thy Authority before Kings and Princes All the Dominions of the World are not equal in Treasure and Wisdom unto thee but all the Children of Whoredoms shall see their shame and be laid naked when thou appearest in thy purity The Nations long for thee to be partakers of thy vertue therefore shew thy self and appear that the rest of thy Flock which yet remain upon the barren Mountains may come in unto thy Fold to rest under thy Shepherds Power O Sion thou art prepared of thy God to beat the Mountains to dust thou art fitted for his Service to thresh the Hills Make no tarrying but come away spread thy self into every corner of the Earth for the Upright thirst for thee aboundantly who lie under the oppression in the Land of Darkness which may be felt from whence thou art freed into the everlasting Light And why shouldst thou O Sion lie at Rest while thy own Seed the Children of thy Womb are oppressed groaning in the captivity under the Uncircumcised who have driven away thy Remnant and scattered it from thee Put on strength O Arm of the Lord for thy Heritage hath no other Helper nor none that pitieth her And shine forth thou Seed of Iacob and bring in the Kingdoms of the Gentiles to partake with thee of thy everlasting Substance and lay out thy self to gain in thy holy Seed out of the power of Aegypts King O think upon and remember thy own former Bondage while thou was thy self Captive in a strange Land and let thy Bowels be filled with compassion towards thy own Mothers Children and be not straitned in thy help and deliverance for thy God hath given thee an Instrument with Teeth to beat the Rocks to powder he is not wanting unto thee in Power and Wisdom thou chiefest Son of his Love Give up give up to obey his Voice and love not thy life unto death till the Seed of thy Inheritance and the blood of thy Chosen be avenged upon the head of Iezabel who hath slain thy elect in all Generations and nourished her self with the blood of thy Innocent Call upon thy God and awake him to Vengeance to smite and to slay thy Adversaries and to consume their Habitations from off the Earth who have been too strong for thee Why shouldst thou not come forth in the power of thy Judgments to judge the Earth in Righteousness and to exalt thy name in thy Glory which all men have despised and seen no Excellency in And thou O Sions King hast been as a Stranger and unknown in the Earth and thy Treasure hath been wasted amongst the Harlots and empty to this day hast thou returned from gathering fruit of thy Vineyard for sloathful and aboundantly idle have the Labourers been in the Harvest and it is time for thee to arise and work for thy Law hath been made void and thy Statutes and Judgments have been neglected and all the Princes of the Earth contemn thy Laws and count the Sons of thy chosen Heritage as Slaves and Bond-men and decree unrighteous Decrees and seal them in the pit of their unbelief upon the Mountains of their rebellion against thee How long Lord How long When wilt thou appear to lay their honour in the dust of confusion Is it not the fulness of thy Time which thou hast promised How long shall the Remnant of Sion sit as a Widow bemoaning her Children Thy Host and Chosen wait for commission from thee to do thy Will that thou who art our God and our King our Judge and our Law-giver whom our souls have chosen may forever be exalted in thy Majesty and Throne of Justice and Judgment and thy Camp wait to see the honour of Kings and Princes overthrown by thee and thy Dominion set to rule over their heads that all Nations and Kingdoms may become subject unto thee and the Kingdoms of this World may become the Kingdom of thy Son forever and evermore and saith my Soul Come Lord Iesus come quickly By one whose name is truly known by the Children of the same Birth but unknown to the World though by is called EDWARD BURROUGH A DESCRIPTION OF THE State and Condition Of all Mankind upon the face of the whole Earth And a Discovery unto all shewing what man was in his Creation before Transgression and what he is in Transgression how he is become a degenerate Plant bringing forth cursed fruit to the grieving of the good Husband-man who is thereby provoked continually against the Works of his own hands to destroy that which he hath made because it is defiled through mans Transgression Also the Way of Restoration of Salvation Redemption and of Life Eternal is here declared unto all the Sons and Daughters of Adam in the whole world that all may come to the knowledge of the Creator and to have fellowship with him again from whom all the Children of men are separated in the state of enmity and are ignorant of him and drove from his presence This is to go abroad into all the Earth through the whole world as a Call and Visitation unto all mankind that they may hear and consider their condition and may return from whence they are fallen and may be
came to pass and was fulfilled and as you may read in thâ— Revelations the Churches grew into Superstitions and Idolatries and the Chuch of Ephesus had lost her first Love and her Candlestick was to be removed and so it came to pass and some in the Church of Smyrna were in the Blasphemy saying they they were Iews and were not but were the Synogogues of Satan and the Church of Pergamos some of them held the doctrine of Balaam and to eat thingâ— sacrificed to Idols and to commit Fornication and some held the doctrinâ— of the Nicolaitans which God hated and against them would the Lord fight with the Sword of his Mouth and the Church of Thyatira suffered that Woman Iâ—zabel to prophesie and to teach and seduced the Servants of the Lord to comâ—it Fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto Idols and she and her Lovers werâ— to be cast into a Bed of torment and her Children should be killed with Death and all the Churches should know that God searched the reins and the hearts and every one should receive according to their deeds and the Church of Sâ—… had only a Name to live but was dead and her work was not perfect before God and upon them would the Lord come as a Thief and they should be in Darkness and not know what hour he would come and the Church of the â—â—odiceans were luke-warm neither hot nor cold and the Lord would spew her ouâ— of his Mouth for she was wretched miserable and poor and blind and naked and the shame of her nakedness did appear And if any had an ear to hear they migâ—t hear these things were spoken by him that lives for ever the First and the Last the Beginning and the Amen so that hereby the Lord's Soul was vexed and his Spirit grieved and his Wrath was suddenly kindled against them who were Revolters and Backsliders from his Way of Salvation which he had made manifest to them through the mouth of his Servants so that his Fury went forth againâ—â— them to overthrow them and to break them to peices and they being turned from his Law and from his Statutes he gave them up unto their own hearts desire and brought in the Heathen upon them to confound them who broke them assunder and trod down many of their Cities and gained great Parts of their Dominions and made them Slaves by multitudes and overthrew their Worship and subjected their Power even the Turks and base uncircumcised People made a Prey upon them and possessed their Habitations and set up abominable Idolatries in the Place where God's Honour had dwelt and their Dominions and Treasures without became spoil to the teeth of Devourers for they having lost the Terror of the Lord he brought up the Heathen to be a terror unto them whose power was mightier then they and overcame them they being without the power of God and they justly came upon them according to the Purpose of the Lord because of their backslidings And others of thâ—â— who were not so given up to the will of an outward Enemy yet were they given up to strange Idolatries and Subversion and setting up Images and worshipping that which is not God but abomination to him to this day so that the holy City which had been full of Glory was given to the Gentiles to be trodden down and under their polluted feet hath it been stamped and to their mouth hath it been a prey for such a time even since these things came to pass unto this day as you may read and the Beast and false Prophet hath ruled in oppression and the great Whore hath made all Nations drunk with the Wine of her Fornication All the great Men and Princes and Nobles and all the People upon the Earth have been made drunk by her and touched her uncleanness and ever since the day wherein the backsliding entred she hath sat upon Nations and Kindreds and Tongues and People and hath been decked in divers colours to deceive the hearts of all people and all Nations have been deceived by her and the Beast and his Power whose Dominion hath been great hath upheld Wickedness by a Law and established Idolatry by Decrees and all have been out of the Way and wandring in Blindness and Darkness even the whole World have worshipped the Beast and gone after the false Prophet which sits upon the Beast and his power protects him till they be both overthrown into perdition and cast alive into the Lake which now the Lord is coming to do in Power and Dominion and great Babylon is coming into remembrance before the Lord and as she hath done so shall it be done unto her her Children is dashing against the stones and her Off-spring is withering away and the Darkness is vanishing and the Sun is appearing and the Beastly Power shall be subdued and the false Prophet confounded even the old Dragon shall be bound and chained never more to deceive for the Beast hath had a long reign with his false Prophet who have prophesied Lyes and false Divinations and led away the minds of all People For mark and consider Christ Jesus who came into the World with glad-tidings of good things even with Peace and Salvation he said the glorious day was come and even that day which many Prophets and Wise-men had desired to see but had not seen the earth was filled with light as I have said yet he farther prophesied and said that the night should come when no man could work and that in the last dayes false Prophets should arise and deceive many and should come into the World and should cry Lo here is Christ and lo there is Christ and if it were possible should deceive the very Elect and the Apostle Iohn in his time who had been an eye-Witness of Jesus and had handled and tasted and felt the Word of Life and had been with Jesus and bore a true testimony unto him in that very Age and Generation he saw the false Prophets and Antichrists come and coming in and aluded to the very sayings of Christ By this we know said he that it is now the last time for there are now many false Prophets and Antichrists gone out into the World they were not of the true Apostles but went out from among them being gone out from the Light in their own particulars and beguiled the hearts of the simple by good words and fair speeches and went in Balaams way for Gifts and Rewards and in Cains way to Envy and Murder as you may read in the Scripture So that in Iohns time the false Prophets which Christ foretold of were come and they did deceive many according as Christ had said and they drew many from the Wayes of God and subverted many from the Way of Truth and made havock of the Flock and were grievous Wolves according as Paul said and truth began to perish from among men and the Power thereof ceased and the Apostacy came in and the form
sight of men these shall be plagued together and tormented together for the false Prophet and the Beast hath sent forth their unclean Spirits like Frogs unto all the Kings of the Earth and unto the whole World to gather them to Battel with their Armies to make war against him that sits on the white Horse even the Son of God and this is the false Prophet which Câ—rist prophesied of to come which long since came and hath served the Beast and the great Whore for many Generations and many even all Nations have been deceived as Christ said and led aside and blinded and bewitched by him And as I have said these Teachers of this Generation are of them of their Root and Off-spring which long have flourished on the face of the Earth But the day is at hand that the Heaven and the Holy Apostles and Prophets shall rejoyce over the Whore and over the false Prophet for the Lord comes to avenge us on her and as she hath done so shall it be done unto her now in this day wherein Ierusalem shall be builded again and the holy City which the Geâ—tiles have trod under foot for forty and two moneths which time is expired and near an end accounting from the dayes of the coming in of the Apostacy untill this day if any have an ear to hear let him hear this I have received from God I say the holy City shall be measured and the Gentiles cast out and she shall be adorned and as a Bride for her Husband shall she be prepared and Gods Tabernacle shall be with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his People and God himself will be their God and all tears shall be wiped away and there shall be no more death nor sorrow for the former things are passed away and all things shall be made new And what I have said are the faithful Sayings of God every one that is athirst shall drink of the Water of Life freely and he that overcometh shall inherit all things and shall be called the Son of God and shall dwell in the holy City which long the Gentiles foot hath troden under which shall again be adorned and prepared as a Bride for her Husband if any have an ear to hear let them â—ear And the Glory of the Lord is risen and his Day is breaking forth more abundantly and the Lamb is given for a Light and all Nations that are saveâ— shall walk in the Light of the Lamb and the King of Righteousness who hath been long fled into Egypt while Herod the Beast which hath sought his life and driven the woman into the Wilderness hath reigned shall again be set upon the holy Hill of Sion and rule all Nations with a Rod of Iron and trample upon the necks of all his Enemies the Nations have not for many Ages been ruled by hiâ—… but the Beast who hath ruled over Kindreds and People and said Who hath beâ—… able to make war again the Beast and to the power of the Beast hath all Nations beâ—… subject and the Dominion of Christ hath been trodden down and despised and 〈◊〉 holy City hath been laid waste and his Princely Power hath not been felt nor witnessed in the Kingdoms of men for Ages and Times nor him the one head and the one horn hath not been known but many heads and horns have been exalted aâ—â— all Nations and all the Princes and Kingdoms of the Earth have been subject 〈◊〉 the Rule and Law of the Beast and to the Divinations of the false Prophet darkâ—… hath been over all and God hath been as a stranger in the Earth as one not known he hath been worshipped ignorantly and the inscription every where hath been 〈◊〉 the unknown God but now after all this the glorious God of Truth hath appeared and great and mighty hath been his Hand and Power in this our day in raisâ—…g 〈◊〉 a righteous Branch out of the Root of Righteousness and in gathering his scattered People up to himself who have been scattered by the Idol Teachers and deceived by false Prophets made a prey upon by the wild Beasts of the Forrest O how have the People been made a prey upon by their Teachers and greedily devoured by 〈◊〉 Shepherd who have sought themselves and sought for their gain every one fâ—… his Quarter for many Ages how have people been led blind by their blind Sâ—…pherds and none to this day come to the knowledge of the Truth by them 〈◊〉 these have run and were not sent and therefore the people have not bâ—… profitted at all as it was in Ieremiahs dayes so it is now no profit 〈◊〉 people in the knowledge of the Wayes of God but leanness and barrâ—â—ness and as the Teacher so his People all out of the way in prophaness 〈◊〉 wickedness and prophaneness is gone forth from them into many Nations yâ—… the Lord bringing back his Inheritance which have been driven away into the desolate Wilderness yea and the Lord hath caused his Light to shine out of darkness and unto them that have sat in darkness and in the shadow â—f death iâ— the marvellous Light risen that the Glory of the Lord may be revealed and God Tabernacle may be with men and the holy City is preparing as a Bride for her Husband and Darkness shall flee away and Sorrow and Sighing shall no more be known but Life and Immortality shall again be brought to Light as it was in the dayes of the Apostles This I have received from God and the Lord shall be known to be the God of his People and for this cause hath he called and chosen faithful Witnesses 〈◊〉 given his powerful Ministry by the gift of the holy Ghost as it was in the Apostles dayes and now many are called to declare abroad the things which we 〈◊〉 heard and seen and handled and the Gospel of Christ is received by the Revâ—…tion of Gods eternal Spirit and Son in our hearts and the power is made manifest and the form of Godliness without the Power is denied and judged and Christ the one Head is exalting and the one Horn of Gods Salvation is revealing and the many Heads and many Horns must be broken to pieces and be confoundâ—d in this the day of the Lord for his purpose is powerful in carrying on his oâ—â— work against all his Enemies so that none are able to hinder But they that set themselves even the Beast and his Power which is now struck at whose Kingdom is invaded hath raised the force of his power and the pollicy of his arm yet shall they be confounded and no formed Weapon shall prosper against the Lord and his Way who is now risen to avenge himself of the Beast and his power and the Whore and her Fornications and the false Prophet and his Divinations which all must inâ—… the Wine-press of Gods dreadful Wrath to be trodden and all that worship the Beast and repent not shall partake
them like to the Beast none upon Earth hath bought or sâ—â—d or judged or given evidence or been respected in all the World that 〈◊〉 not had the Mark of the Beast and the number of the names of Antichrist rich and poor small and great have receive his Mark as a Seal of their subjection to the Beast whose many heads and many horns have subjected all by the force of his arm and he hath blinded the eye lest men should see him and cast darkness over all faces and the false Prophet hath deceived many a Christ hath said and all the Earth hath been wandring in the Wildernâ—… of Wickedness and the Long-suffering of the Lord hath been wearied and he continually provoked to destroy the Nations who have followed Antichrist who hath shewed himself in the Seat of God to be God and hath sat in the Seat of God in the Seat of Justice Righteousness and of Mercy and the Abomination of desolation hath long stood in the place where it ougâ—â— not for many Ages and length of Times and his many Heads and many Horns hath swayed the World through the terror of the Beast who haâ—… made all worship him and they that would not he hath killed who hath carried the great Whore who hath made all men without exception and all Nations without respect to any wholly drunk with abomination and all hath staggered and fallen into grievous iniquities and the Dragon hath stood ready continually to devour the Child of Righteousness as soon as it was born and the Woman hath been forced to flee into the Wilderness that hath brought iâ— forth and hath fed there for so many dayes and for a long season hath the Lâ—â—d been blasphemed even the Name of God and his Tabernacle and them thâ—â— dwell in Heaven But now hath the Lord considered and looked down from his Habitatiâ—n and of a truth he is risen and hath taken to him his great Power that he may reign and put all things under his Feet and subdue the power of the Beast and Antichrist and all their Government and Rule and Laws and Decrees shall be overthrown and confounded all their worship shall be broken for great Babylon is come into remembrance before the Lord to render her according to her works the Lamb is now risen and advanced with his Bow and his Sword and he is going forth Conquering and to Conquer the Beast and all that have worshipped him and they that are with the Lamb are called and chosen and faithful they love not their lives unto death and they shall overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of his Testimony the Dominion of the Lamb is setting up and his Power is made manifest and the Stone cut out of the Mountain without hand is a dashing at the feet of the Image and against the Beast and his Power and against all his Laws and Decrees is he risen and he will change Times and Laws and Powers and the Kingdoms of this World shall become the Kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever for now the Spirit of Life from God is entred into the Witnesses which have been slain and they begin to stand upon their feet and great fear falls upon the great men of the World and the Devil is cast out into the Earth who hath sitten in Heaven in the Temple of God and deceived the whole World and his wrath is great against the Saints and against the Lamb because he knoweth his time is but short and the Man-child shall grow and shall rule the Nations with a Rod of Iron if any man hath an ear to hear let him hear he that leadeth into Captivity shall go into Captivity he that killeth with the Sword must be killed with the Sword the Purpose of the Lord shall stand who is now gathering and bringing back such as have been driven away and deceived by the Generation of false Prophets who have deceived the whole World and all that dwell therein and the Lord will take vengeance upon them upon the Beast and upon the false Prophet and great Babylon shall be thrown down and shall be no more at all but shall be made desolate and the voice of Harpers and Musitians shall no more be heard at all in her but her Glory shall wither and fade away in a moment for he that hath a true Weight and Measure is appeared to divide and to give due weight and measure unto every one and all the wicked who will not come from under the worship of the Beast shall have their part in the Lake that burnes with Fire and he that is unjust let him be unjust still and he that is righteous let him be righteous still here is the dividing of all things as they were in the beginning the Glory of the Lord is risen whose name is called the Word of God and out of his mouth goeth a sharp Sword and with it be smiteth the Nations and he shall rule them with an Iron Rod for his Name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and he is gathering his Saints together to the Supper of the Great God to eat the flesh of Kings the flesh of Captains and the flesh of Horses and them that sat thereon the Purpose of the Lord shall not be disannulled though the Beast and the Kings of the Earth gather together their Armies to make war against him that sits upon the Horse who is already gone out to conquer and the numberless number of the Saints are gathering together before the Throne of the Lamb and they have no guile found in their mouthes And the day is now dawned and the night is far spent Wo unto the World and to all the Inhabiters of the Earth who have worshipped the Beast the Lord is coming to plead with you and ye that have partaken of the sins of the great Whore shall partake of her Plagues and she shall be rewarded double according to her works for her sins have reached unto Heaven The Day of great tribulation is at hand of Anguish and Destruction men shall seek death and shall not find it but it shall flee from them when the Lord ariseth and the Lamb standeth upon Mount Sion and his Saints with him who shall tread down the Heathen and cast them out even as they have trodden down the holy City and the Worship thereof and the Kingdom of the Beast and his Seat and his great Authority which he hath received from the Dragon shall all be thrown down and the Kingdom of the Son of God with his Government Scepter and Rule shall be established in all the Earth and the utmosts part thereof shall be given him to possess this is the Promise and this shall come to pass and through the whole World Laws and Decrees Ministry and Orders shall be changed and renewed the Law and Decree of the Most High shall rule over all and the
and Assemblies of the Lord's People practiz'd the same thing in Ages past as the Servants of the Lord do at this day so this Practice is to be upholden and maintained because it is proved to be according to the Scriptures for the same thing was practiz'd heretofore And we read Acts 20. 7. That the Church met in the Night for Paul continued his Sermon till Midnight And as for their Practice in Speaking either man or Woman as the Spirit gives utterance this is according to the Scriptures though it be much wondred at and cry'd against by the Wise-men and People of this Age for we read Acts 2. that they spoke in their Meeting as the Spirit gave them utterance without studying before-hand what to say And the Lord promised That Sons and Daughters should Prophesie And in Acts 21. 9. we read of one that had four Daughters that did Prophesie And divers other places in Scripture do shew That Women labour'd in the Gospel which doth prove that a Woman speaking and declaring the things of God is not contrary but according to the Scriptures and that any who are moved of the Lord may declare the things of God Man or Woman And the Apostle saith 1 Pet. 4. 10. As every man hath received the Gift even so minister the same one to another So that this Practise in Religion is proved to be according to the Scriptures And as concerning their call to the Ministry some are called from their ordinary callings as from the Plough or from handicraft work or tradings or such like this is according to the Scriptures also for we read Matt. 4. 18 19. where the Disciples were called from their Nets and some were called from the receipt of Custom and we read Amos 7. that he was a Herdsman and a gatherer of Sycamore fruit and Elisha was called from the Plough and some others were called from keeping of Sheep So that their call to the Ministry and Practice in the Ministry is according to the Scriptures for the Servants of the Lord in former Ages were called to the Ministry after the same manner so in that they do agree to the Scripture both in Ministry and ministring and so may own protection herein by the Protectors Oath And as concerning their going up and down through the Countries and from City to City and from one Town to another and from one Nation to another this is according to the Scriptures though some seek occasion thereby against them and unjustly take them as for Vagabonds and executes their envy upon them yet it was the Apostles Practice as you may read in the Book of Acts where the Apostles travelled from Country to Country and from one City to another And though some of the Servants of the Lord are moved now to speak and dispute in the Markets and reprove Sin in the Gates and in the Streets and in the High-wayes and threatning God's Judgments against the Wicked all these things are according to Scripture and their Practice herein is justified by the Scriptures for we read Acts 17. 17. That Paul disputed in the Synagogues with the Jews and with the devout Persons and in the Market daily with them that met with him And we read Ier. 7. That he was commanded to stand in the Gate of the Lord's House and to speak to all that passed into it And Ier. 26. we read That he was commanded to stand in the Court of the Lord's House without doors and to speak to all the Cities of Judah And we read in the Book of Ionas How he was commanded to go through the Streets and to reprove Sin and to threaten God's Iudgments against the Wicked and these Practices were strange in that Generation as they are at this day unto the World who are not acquainted with the Wayes of God But all people may see though the Servants of the Lord do practice these things now as they are moved their Practice herein is according to the Scriptures for the Servants of the Lord in former Ages acted the same things so that in this Practice the Servants of the Lord ought not to be persecuted but protected and maintained in it and that by the Protector 's Oath because it is proved to be according to the Scriptures which he is sworn to maintain And as concerning their crying against such and declaring against them by word and writing That Preach for Hire and Divine for Money and seek for their Gain from their Quarter and such who go for Gifts and Rewards and have Sums of Money by the Year for Preaching and though they deny such that act those things to be Ministers of Christ this Practice also is according to the Scriptures for we read in Mic. 3. that he declar'd against such as Preached for Hire and Divined for Money and such were no Ministers of Christ And we read Isa. â—6 that he declared against them that sought for their Gain from their Quarter which were Greedy Covetous men such as are many of the Teachers of England Again we read Mat. 23. where Christ declar'd against such and did not own such to be any of his Ministers Who were called of men Master who stood praying in the Synagogues and had the chief Places in the Assemblies And we read in 2 Pet. 2. and in many other places where the Apostles declared against such and deny'd such to be Ministers of Christ that preached for filthy Lucre and took Gifts and Rewards for Preaching and by feigned words made Merchandize of Souls who were Heady and High-minded-men as you may read 2 Tim. 3. chap. and such men were deny'd to be Ministers of Christ by the Prophets Christ and his Apostles so that all people may see this Practice of the Servants of the Lord at this day who are moved to declare against such men that act these things mentioned is perfectly according to the Scriptures for the Servants of the Lord spoken of in Scripture did the very same things in this particular as are done at this day Therefore for this Practice they ought not to be persecuted as they have been but ought to be protected and maintained in it and that by the Protector 's Oath who hath sworn to maintain that practice which is according to the Scripture and to declare against them that preach for Hire and have great sums of Money for Preaching and that are called of men Master and that take Gifts and Rewards of people for Preaching I say to do thus is a practice which the Scripture gives a large Example for and so it must needs be according to Scripture and ought to be protected in this Government Again as concerning their denying to respect Persons or to bâ—… with the Hat or Knee in respect of worshipping any Creature this also is according to the Scriptures though the people of the World who live in pride and vain customs are offended with them in this Practice for we read that God commanded
more theâ— the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them that opposed the Truth nor no Weapon shall I use against thâ—m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Spiritual and the Sword that goes out of the Lamb's Mouth 〈◊〉 the many Scriptures which he quotes page 23. â—o neither say nor sigâ—… 〈◊〉 the Letter the Writings are the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—ed though Mâ—… 〈◊〉 5. 5. â—…id He would 〈◊〉 them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord did he then shew 〈◊〉 Letter the Writings the Scripture I say No therefore he did not 〈◊〉 Writings and the Letter the Wâ—rd of God as you affirmed â—nd sâ—… 〈◊〉 prove but thoâ—â—…test 〈◊〉 anâ—â—rovest â—othing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though mâ—ny times the Word oâ— the Lord came to such a Prophet and to 〈◊〉 Prophet as thou 〈◊〉 proved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iâ—â—l and others yet did the Wrâ—… and the Letter come to them or that which the Letter and Writings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let Wise Men judge That noâ— all thou caâ—st â—ay doth not prove 〈◊〉 Writings the Letter is â—…e 〈◊〉 of God or thâ—…â—…ver any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—hat 〈◊〉 better Proof be given which I neâ—â—◠〈◊〉 need not revoke any 〈◊〉 that I have said contrary viz. Thâ—◠〈◊〉 Letter 〈◊〉 tings are the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Holy Man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so called But still I say The 〈◊〉 tings and Letteâ— are not the Word 〈◊〉 the â—â—ing wriâ—â—en of is the Word 〈◊〉 that lives forever Then 〈◊〉 that I charged R. G. with saying whâ—â— I had my 〈◊〉 in my 〈◊〉 the Dispute I had the â—…ing signified in my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which thiâ—◠〈…〉 first Relation had much â—â—â—â—â—fied but now he seeâ—… to acknowledges 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and excuses it by supposing it was A Slip of his Tâ—… the higheâ—â—â—…tter of 〈◊〉 in it 〈◊〉 â—s for the words 〈◊〉 only 〈◊〉 self but diâ—… others do will 〈…〉 them spoken by R. G. 〈◊〉 Fellow Dâ—…tant and had he or 〈…〉 a Sâ—… of the Tongue 〈◊〉 had gone no â—…ther 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thâ—◠〈◊〉 in thy 〈…〉 lation gave a wrong Account thereof and had laid down the thing quiâ—◠〈…〉 wise then he spoke it this made the matter more a Transgression and thy 〈◊〉 count to be false neither am I reaâ—y to catch words from the 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 ponâ—â—t as thou chargeâ—â— me buâ— that Charâ—â—â—… â—…â—…ust needs make use of it to shew the Folly 〈◊〉 sâ—â—h men that will so do 〈…〉 of their own Moutheâ— often and by their own words to confound them 〈…〉 â—…hou have me to give away 〈◊〉 just Cause through neglect of hearing 〈◊〉 â—…ing notice of such fouâ— words as to say I had the Thing in my hâ—…d that was 〈…〉 〈◊〉 the Bible when I 〈◊〉 the Bible in my hand and so â—et Deceit a top on me 〈…〉 of reproving Evil I am otherwise taught do thou judge what thou 〈…〉 my Principles are found to agree with the Scriptâ—re for it 〈…〉 shall be â—…ed by 〈◊〉 words and by his words shall 〈◊〉 be condemned 〈…〉 â—…y Answers to his Qâ—eries raised from some words of mine writâ—… 〈◊〉 The Standard c. My Answer sayst thou is little else 〈…〉 thing over again c. Now I say Itâ— needless here to tranâ—… 〈◊〉 and Anâ—…rs over again but let them be looked in my first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Something of Truth Made Manifest c. wheâ—… it may be seen that 〈…〉 sufficiâ—â—t and laid down to the satisfaction of all reasonable 〈…〉 be resolved though thou sayst Thâ—â—â— i◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 evidence of Truth 〈…〉 first but dost not at all discover the falsness 〈◊〉 them 〈◊〉 any partiâ—…ar 〈…〉 been right for thee to have â—â—â—e and not to â—ave charged evil 〈…〉 my Answers and prove nothing but 〈…〉 believe him exâ—… 〈…〉 â—is words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oracle for them â—…t â—â—â—e recâ—â—ved the good 〈…〉 cannot believe him 〈…〉 Conclusion he charges me 〈◊〉 â—…sh kind of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 Wâ—… can be in the 〈◊〉 of sâ—ch 〈◊〉 that 〈…〉 so ba◠〈◊〉 〈…〉 sâ—… 〈◊〉 wâ—â—ds when in his former he 〈◊〉 â—…luded That I 〈…〉 Doctrine and weakened the 〈◊〉 o◠〈◊〉 Scriâ—… to 〈…〉 â—…ng thoughts of them and such 〈◊〉 because I â—…d affiâ—…d the 〈…〉 saying The Devil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scriâ—… 〈…〉 I not Reason to question what is in his heart who had the boldness 〈…〉 â—o 〈◊〉 evilly against me as he dâ—d 〈◊〉 proving 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—o what I said And in that I did charge Darkâ—ess 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—pon 〈◊〉 I do and may still till he Repenâ—â— for doth he not accuse me falsly in 〈◊〉 things as in saying My Principles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 light c. but proves not partiâ—… his Charge and in his first Book accused us as if we had a Pope in our 〈◊〉 which words are both Lies and Scornful and are not thâ—â—â— things true 〈◊〉 that he is in Darkness and Blindness and so my Charge is 〈◊〉 false upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he saith He will not judge E. B. â—astily c. 〈◊〉 Hast not thou falsly judged me already 〈◊〉 many things as I have shewed 〈…〉 the Lord in time may let thee see thy judgment is false and awaken thy 〈…〉 to Repentance and then shalt thou confess I have done thee no 〈…〉 but the Wrong-Dealing lies at thy Door so that by what is said the 〈…〉 thy Book is a Lye and utterly false which is Some Principles of Edw. â—… called a Quaker Examined and found too light 〈…〉 Now in this I shall not be Judge altogether in my own Cause but leave 〈…〉 the view of sober Men and require their Judgment when they have read 〈…〉 â—…erly over what one particular instanced by him is proved to be unâ—ound 〈…〉 light for according to the Testimony of the holy â—en of God in Scripâ—…â—â—â—reby may I confirm the Truth of what I have and do hold forth and to 〈…〉 â—…ns Conscience do commend my self to be approved in the sight of God 〈◊〉 good Report or bad Report of men I regard not but trâ—â—d over them both 〈◊〉 â—â—â—rein the Truth is wronged I am bound to give my Evidence for it and 〈…〉 opposers and that is the very end of this my present Work to contend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth and not for Mastery though Truth doth give me Mastery over 〈◊〉 and to hold forth the same Faith Light and Truth which the Apostles 〈…〉 before the Apostacy which hath been clouded in all this dark Night of â—…cy which hath been over the World for many Ages since the Man-child 〈◊〉 â—…ght up to God and the Woman â—â—ed into the Wilderness spoken of in the Revelations but now the Light is made manifest and the Glory of the Lord is revealing and the Day is dawned and the Night is over to â—…y and the subversion of this Ministry now in England is clearly seen from 〈…〉 Ministry of Christ was in the dayes of the Apostles And now as concerning this Controversie between Pâ— Tâ—â—â—â—â—â—r and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whoever is not satisfied herewith but desires a full and true Account of the 〈◊〉 may peruse his first Book called
all Nations since the dayes of the true Churches and holy Apostles And know ye That we are none of all the many Sects nor of the divers Wayes and formal Worshippers that are but in the Imitations fiegned of what the Saints of old spoke and performed in the Power and Spirit of God which hath been spoken and practized by all the divers Sects and false Churches without the Spirit Power and Life that was in the Apostles so that all Religion hath been and the Profession and Practice thereof for many Ages but as the floating of a broken Vessel upon the Waters driven with the several Winds wanting Anchor and skilful Marriners which have not carried to perfect Rest the Hope of Eternal Life But know ye that now at last through our long and wearied Travels and after all our tedious Seekings and our zealous Practises and Profession in Christianity performed by us while Darkness covered us and the Earth hath the Lord set us safe upon the Rock Christ Jesus upon whom the Church of Christ firmly standeth and the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against and he hath made our Habitation sure upon the Mountain of his House which is established upon the top of the Mountains whereunto we now are gathered and rest in a certain hope and tried confidence and doth view the whole World and the state of all Mankind and measureth the times and seasons thoroughout Generations and the state of the Church we perfectly know by the inspiration of the Almighty her estate before the Apostles dayes and in the Apostles dayes and since the Apostles dayes and her increase and decrease and estate since the beginning of the World till now and at this present time to us is certainly known by the Spirit of Jesus and the Light of the Lamb which now is risen upon our Mountain and shines in our Habitations And first we certifie you as for the many false Sects and Churches so called and many of the divers worshippers and separated forms of Churches risen up since the Apostles dayes from the least of them to the greatest we have searched and examined and are not fully satisfied but rather the contrary that they are perfectly sound in the Faith but rather degenerated from the Power Spirit and Life that was in the Apostles and among the true Churches before the Apostacy and we have sought out their first original and root and we find they fall short of the true Church and the Apostles first in respect of time many Generations and also in respect of life and power and purity and they want the spirit and dominion and Government that the true Churches and Apostles possessed and we certainly believe they are many of them come up and risen in a dark Night long since the dayes of the Apostles while the Sun was yet unrisen and while the Mountains of Ignorance Blindness and Wickedness covered the face of the Earth and the Clouds of Darkness remained upon the face of the whole Heavens and while yet the Man-child remains in God being caught up to him and the Woman lodged in the desolate Wilderness being thither fled because of the great red Dragon And we believe not that any of them are the Lambs Wife lawfully joyned to him neither are they the Virgin in which there is no spot nor the Spouse truly in election to Christ the Bridegroom for we have had controversie with them this divers years and weighed them and measured them in the ballance of equity and they appear to us not to be of a true descent from that Vine into which true Church was planted but their original may be of a latter race And to say no more of them we certainly know they are foully spotted and have not the favour nor parts nor garments of a Virgin and Christ the Bridegroom they have deeply wronged for many false Sects have risen out of the great Whore the mother of Harlots who hath been in open and secret Fornication ever since the days of the Apostles and such are her off-spring and not of the true Seed elect which is heir by right of the inheritance of Life eternal the Kingdom which hath no end And for as much as the Church of Rome hath openly pleaded as we have heard and some of your Members also to our faces that she is indeed the true Church and she alone and none besides and that you can fetch your original by line truly from the Apostles and Church of the Saints and are not degenerated in any particular of Faith Doctrine nor Practise from the Life and Power and Government and Spirit which was among the true Church and in the Apostles These things with others the like have we heard of you and concerning you by many And now because the Lord hath put it into our hearts to have controversie with you and to seek out perfectly your original and to justifie you or condemn you accordingly and having the certain infallible Spirit of the Lord God to try all things we are purposed in the Lord to visit you and to examine to the Foundation your rise and first beginning from whence you come by descent and what you truly are in your present Estate and whether you be indeed the true Church and have the true Spirit or whether you are otherwise that all the World may be satisfied and more perfectly know the full Truth concerning the Church of Rome and your Seed and Root we will examine and your Birth and Original we will search out and your Faith and Worship and whole Religion we will lay to the Line of true Judgement to justifie you or condemn you eternally for the Saints shall judge the World and your Garments shall be stripped off and your Secrets discovered and your whole Body and Members made fully manifest that the very truth of all things may appear and be embraced and the Whoredoms of the whole Earth may be laid open that the Just and the Innocent that hath long lain groaning in great Captivity may be delivered from under all Bonds of Oppressions Whoredoms and Iniquities and this will the Eternal God by us speedily bring to pass amongst you Wherefore thou Pope greatly admired and highly exalted and to all thy Cardinals Friers Iesuits and Priests and all other Officers under thee I am moved of the Lord God of Heaven and Earth who is the only Holiness and highest of all by this Message to visit you requiring you and charging you in the Name and Authority of the Dreadfull and Mighty God before whom all men and Nations are as nothing in comparison but may be turned at his pleasure and dashed to pieces by his Mighty Hand and unto whom all the Sons of Adam in the World must give an Account and as you will answer it to him iâ— his dreadful Day of Judgment and Vengeance and as you love and will obey your God and Christ whom you profess and serve and as you would honour your God and
them again at other times in discourse with the chief of all the Fryars of the Company called Recolects also and did in the Power of the Lord declare Truth unto them and against their Idolatry until such time as some of them were so offended with us not having much wherewith to an swer in Truth to defend themselves they of the Company called Capuchins grew light and scornful and very wicked and did in a manner deny us the liberty any more to come unto them And we were with each Company of Fryars two several times and as for the Iesuites we had much upon us to visit them in their Colledges but we perceived that the chief Rector of the Colledge of Iesuiâ—â—s had heard of our being in the Town he did refuse to discourse with us and we went once into the Colledge and could not be admitted to speak with him And about a Week after we came into the Town the chief Governor Lockhart coming home he sent as he said to the Iesuites Colledge that they should admit us to come to speak with them and as we found it from the Lord upon us at a convenient season we went again to the Colledge and were for some hours in discourse with the chief Rector of the Colledge who appeared at the first very high and subtile and crafty and did in his heart reject us and the simplicity of the Gospel but Truth and the Word of the Lord had dominion over him and before the Truth he and they all are as weak as Water many things were disputed upon which the particulars now cannot be related but in about three hours time he grew weary pretending other business and would stay no longer with us and so we parted demanding of him whether he would admit some more discourse at some other time which he did refuse so we were not admitted to come to him any more whereupon these following Propositions I was moved to give forth and send among them as a Charge upon them in the Name and Power of the Lord and they were given and delivered in Latine up and down among the Iesuites and Fryars in the Town unto which to this day I never could receive an Answer therefore my charge lies upon them to this day as a Testimony from the mouth of the Lord against them of which they can never clear themselves And we were moved to visit the Nunns and went to their Place and before many words were spoken to them through a Grate for we might not see them and to speak to them both at once they asked If we were of the order of those called Quakers and they perceiving we were such said They might not hear us because we were such and presently passed away and refused to suffer us to speak to them and therefore we had very small time with them onely gave our Witness against them and passed away To all ye Iesuits Priests and Friars and to all you in general of the Romish Church in and about Dunkirk FRiends in dear love to all your Immortal 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 Original and in its present standing and in its practises and having truely 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 Judgement 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 Lamb's 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 manner 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 Commandments of Christ nor in the Example of his Apostles non 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 overshadowed 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 general 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 Antichrist 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 sate 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 the Peoples the Multitudes and the Kindreds that the Beast hath received Power over and the Whore hath sate upon and the false Prophets deceived 5. That the true Church of Christ the Lamb's Wife the elected Spouse and the beloved City who brought forth him that was to rule the Nations hath been fled into the Wilderness and been fled into the Place of Mourning and Desolation for a thousand two hundred and sixty dayes and the Gentiles Feet have troden down the holy City the Lamb's 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 in the Wilderness in Mourning and Desolation 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 Desolation and treading down of the holy City the Lamb's Wife and the reigning of the Beast and the Whore hath your Church been extant in her glory and power
be deceived and the Imaginations of your hearts will come to nothing and it s you that will fall and come to nothing and not we whom the Lord is bringing up out of the Apostacy which you all are in and all Nations are in since the dayes of the Apostles And we are not any of all those Sects and false Churches that have been on foot for many Ages for its true they have risen and fallen come up and gone down one after another and made a stir and a noise for a while and then withered and come to nought and dyed away of themselves and this is because their Foundation has not been Christ the Rock of Ages nor none of them have been his true Church his Spouse elected to him for if they had they could not have been prevailed against nor fallen as they have done nor they have not been the true Church which is the Ground and Pillar of Truth for they have wither'd and come to nothing and risen and fallen one after another in a few years time and they could not stand long any of them but must needs wither and be confounded and one consume another and be eaten up one of another for they have risen out of the Pit that hath had no bottom and into that have they and must they all sink down again and they have caused the world to wonder after them for a little season but being not upon the Foundation they could not remain for they have all come out of the Pit go into Perdition have risen one out of another and been destroyed one of another and though some of them have made war one with another and some of them hated the Whore yet have they given their power to the Beast and the Beast rose out of the Pit which had no bottom without Foundation and the Beast and all these Sects that have given their power to him go into Perdition with him and it s not possible that they should remain long but fall and come to nothing because Christ hath not been their Foundation but as I have said We are not any of all these that give their power to the Beast but are of them that stand with the Lamb upon Moun Sion that are redeemed unto God out of every Sect and out of Kindreds and Multitudes and we are of them that have overcome the Beast and his Image and the number of his name who are them that follow the Lamb whither soever he goes who cannot be overcome nor fall because greater is he that is in us then he that is in the World and he overcomes the world and he is our Rock and Foundation and we cannot be moved but he keeps us we may not fall nor come to nought as our Enemies do falsly suppose and speak as they would have it but let them be at rest for we shall grow and spring and be encreased into a numberless Number which shall stand upon the Sea of Glass with the Harps of God in our hands singing Praises and Glory to the Lord God for evermore What though the Woman has been fled into the Wilderness and we her Seed made war against and slain and what though we be accounted as Sheep for the slaughter and killed all the day long And what though some that are convinced and come to the Faith of Christ in measure what though some such do turn from the Truth into the evil world again and deny the Lord and his People and their latteâ—-end be worse then their beginning the unclean spirit possess them seven fold more then at the first and what though the evil eye doth see this the Wicked do herein rejoyce and take occasion from such things to say They will fall they will fall and people turn from them again O ye Fools and Blind notwithstanding all this Truth shall prosper and such as are faithful shall never be ashamed nor never fall but the Lord will overcome and the Woman shall return and shall receive her Seed to life again which shall be as the Stars for multitude and your desires and conceivings shall be confounded And what though you say They cannot stand long for the Powers of the Earth and all the Rulers are against them and Parliaments they will make Laws to suppress them Nay ye Fools and Blind all this will not prevail for the Lord has broken and will break all that shall oppose his Kingdom which he is setting up amongst us of whose Government and Dominion there shall be no end nor no falling but it shall be encreased forever and ever and Powers nor Dominions of the Earth shall not prevail but all that which they do against us turneth to our Increase and their own Overthrow and Confusion while they think to suppress us and all what they can do and what you may suppose it is all nothing and will come to nothing for the Lord hath spoken it his Seed shall grow and his People shall replenish the Nations and in time it will be manifest whose we are and how we shall be increased and in the mean time we bear all things in Patience knowing assuredly that the Lord is with us and that none upon the Earth may prevail against us and this shall all our Enemies know in the Lord's Season E. B. A DISCOVERY Of some part of the War between the Kingdom of the Lamb And the KINGDOM of ANTI-CHRIST Held forth in this Account of several Disputes and Queries between a Minister of Christ really so and one that hath the Name of a Minister but is proved to be a Minister and Member of Antichrist by evident Testimonies And is a short Account of the Covetousness Ignorance Envy and the Fruits of Darkness brought forth by C. Fowler a professed Minister in Reading And here all may see in some measure the difference between Christ and Antichrist and their Authority and Weapons and also the Fruits and Effects of each of them are made manifest To the Reader Friend THE chief occasion of this being sent abroad to publique view is to the people of Reading most particularly but yet more general unto all and though that it be chiefly unto a particular Place and against a particular Person to wit Ch. Fowler one that hath the Name of a Minister of Christ in Reading whose Folly and Weakness and Ignorance is herein discovered yet it hath partly relation to the whole Ministry of the Nation and all men that do not shut their eyes may see and behold something of that great Opposition that is at this day between the Kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Antichrist and I have no other end in publishing of this but for the satisfaction of them that desire it and for the general good of all and if Christopher Fowler shall see himself justly reproved and repeâ—t it may prove of good to him also and I am not a man of Strife for if he and his Brethren had
which hath been of the false Woman and not of the Elect 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 conform 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 Devil 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 affirm 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 Devil 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 Eternal Unity of the Infinite Body by the same Spirit and Aâ—ointing 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 Form without the Power therein was its beginning and its standing at this day 8. That the time is at hand and the Day of the Lord draws near and the fulâ—ess of time is approaching wherein great Babylon shall be thrown down and fall to the Ground and the Lord will be avenged on her and will render Judgâ—ents unto her and the Beast and Whore and false Prophets unto whom the Kingdoms of the World have 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 Lamb's Wife shall be as Glorious aâ— before she fled thither and before she was troden down of the Gentiles and the Lord God Almighty shall be known and his Tabernacle shall be with men These things I assert to you in the Name of the Lord and the truth thereof is certain and should be ready to argue and dispute these things with any sober Person amongst you upon equal tearms 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 cometh 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 return an Answer hereunto in behalf 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 iâ— Meekness returned to you for the further mâ—nifestation of Truth that Truth and Righteousness may clearly appear and be embraced and all Deceit and and false wayes of Antichrist may be confounded and denyed and who are in the Truth shall be confirmed and who are in the Error may have Warning now in the Day of the World's Visitation The Lord is coming to Judgment who will judge the Secrets of all Hearts and the whole World in Equity Dunkirk the 20th of the 3d Moneth 1659. By a Friend unto Righteousness and a Lover of all Souls E. B. These Propositions were sent to them in Latine This was sent to the chief Rector of the Jesuits Colledge in Dunkirk in Latine FRiend thy wisdom and thy knowledge is earthly and sensual 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 Fruitless Tree is standing in thee that brings forth no Fruit unto God and 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 served him but thy self and the Devil and thy Heart is not right in his sight but is corrupt and deceitful 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 Practices and Profession of Religion and Church and Ministry thy many Prayers and thy Works of Righteousness all this shall not hide thee from the Wrath of the Lamb though now thou art hardened â—nd utterly unsensible yet the Stone shall fall upon thee that will grind thee to Powder and thou shalt not escape but the burden of thy own Iniquities shall weigh thee down into Perdition except thou speedily repentest 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 Devil and Antichrist in whomsoever it stands And Friend answer me this one Query What is that Whore that hath sate upon Multitudes and Peoples and what is that Golden Cup in her Hand and what are the Abominations and Fornication 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 and to all the World as having been in a measure an eye and an ear Witness of their Idolatrous and false Wayes Practices and Doctrines never having in all my dayes