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<DATE>2010-06-21</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<P>A NARRATIVE PLAINEY SHEWING, That the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> are as truely Antichri&s;t (who got up &s;ince the dayes of the Apo&s;tles) as the Pope and His Clergie: Denying Chri&s;t to be both a King, a Prie&s;t, and a Prophet; With a &s;erious warning to the <HI>PARLIAMENT</HI> not to uphold and maintain them by a Law, under any pretence what&s;oever: As al&s;o a warning to all People, that (upon peril of their immortal &s;ouls) they be no longer deluded and bewitched by their Sorceries; But that they come to Chri&s;t the true Light, which will lead them out of the paths of &s;in, into the way of peace.</P>
<P>By one who (through mercy from the Lord) hath e&s;caped the &s;nares of &s;in and deceit, and bin brought (through Judgement) into His pure fear, known by the Name of <HI>John Chandler.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Author. 1659.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
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<HEAD>A Narrative, plainly &s;howing, that the Prie&s;ts of <HI>England</HI> are as truly <HI>Antichri&s;t</HI> (who got up &s;ince the daies of the Apo&s;tles) as the Pope and his Clergy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>GIve ear Oh all ye Prie&s;ts of <HI>England,</HI> for this word is to you, to &s;hew (by the true light which hath enlightned me) that ye are Antichri&s;t, and that the Spirit of &s;piritual Whore|dome and Fornication is in and upon you, as truly as in and upon the Pope and his Clergy, &s;o called: For ye deny Chri&s;t the Son of God to be both a King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet, both by your words and actions; and what doth he or they more? Fir&s;t, Ye deny Chri&s;t to be a Prie&s;t, who, by the eternal Spirit, hath offered up him|&s;elf once for all, to put an end to all carnal Covenants, National Chur|ches, Mini&s;try, and Maintenance, and to perfect for ever them that are &s;anctified. Now ye uphold by Doctrine and practi&s;e the Covenant with the &s;eed after the fle&s;h, as it was with the Jew outward of old; of which, Circumci&s;ion in the fle&s;h was a &s;igne, which were both but fi|gures of the Jew inward, who was to be circumci&s;ed without hands by the circumci&s;ion of Chri&s;t in putting off the body of the &s;ins of the fle&s;h: Ye uphold this (I &s;ay) by &s;prinkling of Infants under the for|mer pretence, which ye apply to them as a Seal of the &s;aid Covenant, &s;o accounting them as Chri&s;tians &amp; Members of your Church, which is according to generation, and not according to regeneration, which thing alone gives per&s;ons a right to be Members of Chri&s;t's Church, which is his body: &s;o the matter of your Church is the World, and not the Saints. And as for a National Church: before Chri&s;t, the true light, was manife&s;ted in that body which died at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> there was but one in the whole World, to wit, in the Land of <HI>Judea,</HI> which was a figurative State; to hold forth, that the Saints of Chri&s;t, in his day, (wherever they were gathered out of the World) were a royal Nation
<PB N="4" REF="3">and peculiar people unto him, as <HI>Peter</HI> calleth them: &amp; after Chri&s;t's departure, when the Apo&s;tles and Saints had received power from on high, they went forth in that power, and by their Mini&s;try gathe|red the Seed of God out of &s;everal Nations, Cities, and Places, who were the Churches of Chri&s;t; but ye, in &s;tead hereof, have rai&s;ed by your carnal Covenant with the carnal Seed, many National. Churches (as ye call them), and ye neither tremble nor are a&s;hamed to father them upon Chri&s;t, who is a pure, holy, and &s;piritual head, and mu&s;t have no other body. But the&s;e are &s;een in the light to be but &s;o ma|ny Cities of the Nations, which <HI>John</HI> in his Revelation mentioneth, which, he &s;aith, fell, when great <HI>Babylon</HI> came into remembrance be|fore God, to give her the Cup of the Wine of the fiercene&s;&s;e of his wrath. As for a Nationall Mini&s;try, or Mini&s;try &s;etled all over the Nation, which are your &s;elves, it is &s;uitable to a Na|tional State, to wit, a certain peculiar Tribe, known by di&s;tinct Gar|ments, and appropriating the expo&s;ition and opening of the Scriptures to the people, to them&s;elves; as the Prie&s;ts, the Tribe of <HI>Levi</HI> were, and did under the Law, before Chri&s;t, by God's command; which fir&s;t Prie&s;t-hood there was a nece&s;&s;ity of di&s;anulling (&s;aith the Apo|&s;tle), by rea&s;on of its faultine&s;&s;e, imperfection, and unprofitablene&s;s; wherefore Chri&s;t (who&s;e Father's Law to do, was within his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> heart) came and offered up him&s;elf once for all, and &s;o put an end to that fir&s;t Prie&s;t-hood, which ye mo&s;t wickedly and ungodlily &s;till en|deavour to hold up, together with its maintenance, Tythes, or the Tenth of the encrea&s;e, (which cea&s;ed with the fir&s;t Prie&s;t-hood) mo&s;t wickedly &amp; unju&s;tly forcing the &s;ame from People by a Law of Man, and puni&s;hing the refu&s;ers, whereas the Jewi&s;h Prie&s;t-hood had it by the Law of God; Neither give or allow ye one penny out of it to the Fatherle&s;&s;e, Widow, or Stranger: So that, are ye not rightly called Prie&s;ts? Surely ye need not &s;nuff at it&punc; for Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t ye can in no wi&s;e be called who thus, &s;o vi&s;ibly, with&s;tand his everla&s;ting Prie&s;t|hood. Ye are al&s;o &s;een to deny the Faith of and on Chri&s;t the ever|la&s;ting High Prie&s;t, though ye will acknowledge his per&s;on in words, (for how el&s;e &s;hould ye be Antichri&s;t and the fal&s;e Prophet?) who en|tring him&s;elf once for all into the holy of holies, doth give forth liv|ing vertue to all his Members, who wait in his light, to feel his pure life, whereby they are purged and purified thoroughly from &s;in, by the living Faith and Hope which entreth within the Vail, and all your vailes and coverings, and &s;o are perfected for ever; for Chri&s;t's work is perfect and everla&s;ting: But ye cry out, <HI>Bla&s;phemy, Bla&s;phemy,</HI> To
<PB N="5" REF="3">&s;ay that Chri&s;t thoroughly freeth or purgeth any Man or Woman from Sin, while they live here, but in part onely, &s;o denying the ef|ficacy of Chri&s;t's blood which is his life, which clean&s;eth tho&s;e who &s;incerely confe&s;&s;e their &s;ins, from all &s;in, &s;o making them perfect, as pertaining to the con&s;cience; which I te&s;tify none can ever be, while any &s;in is &s;tanding, which, while &s;o, will certainly rai&s;e up guilt and condemnation there, through God's pure witne&s;&s;e &s;hewing the evil: wherefore, &s;ince ye (being out of the Faith of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t) cannot witne&s;&s;e Victory over &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, ye enter not into the true, &s;piritual, and eternal re&s;t, prepared for the people of God; but maintain and uphold a natural day, to wit, every fir&s;t day of the week, as for an outward Sabbath or Re&s;t, which ye are not a&s;hamed to call the Chri&s;tian Sabbath or Re&s;t: Is this day the true Chri&s;tian's re&s;t? or have they peace with God all the week, and all their daies, and for ever, &s;tanding in his everla&s;ting Covenant, which is to give them Re&s;t from their labours and &s;ore bondage? But the Sabbath day which we &s;anctify, not &s;peaking our own words, or thinking our own thoughts on his Holy day, which is one continual day, known to him, and his people that &s;tand in obedience, ye Prie&s;t's know not, and how then &s;hould ye declare it to others; but your Sabbath which is a natural day, we &s;ee to be but your Market-day, wherein ye vent your wares for money and not the true Chri&s;tian's Re&s;t. Thus do ye plainly deny (Oh ye Prie&s;ts) Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Son of God, to be the onely High-Prie&s;t. And that he &s;hould be a King to reign alone in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, ye cannot endure; (yet will ye call Him in your Pul|pits, King Je&s;us, <HI>Judas</HI> like, giving him a Hail-Ma&s;ter:) For whereas the Lord God, the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hath &s;et this his King upon his holy Hill of <HI>Zion,</HI> in this his day, to rule and govern in the hearts of his People, in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and peace; ye endeavor what ye can to pull him down out of his Throne, and &s;et up the Laws of man in his place: For ye have been endeavouring for divers years, and we well know it is your principle &s;till, to force all people in the Nation (be they never &s;o tender con&s;cienced, or never &s;o &s;en&s;ible of God's power working in their hearts a loathing of your dead traditi|ons, and idol and carnal Wor&s;hip, and drawing their minds to wor|&s;hip him in Spirit and truth) to &s;ubmit to the &s;ame, and bow to the King of <HI>Babel's</HI> Image, upon pain of great puni&s;hment; yea at this day do ye &s;o ride the Bea&s;t or tyrannical Magi&s;tracy, that ye have di|vers Lawes of theirs again&s;t the Saints, thereby to con&s;train them (if ye could) to yield to your covetous, proud, and wicked Wills, and re&s;train them from oppo&s;ing or troubling of you in your evil waies
<PB N="6" REF="4">and deceit; when as the Saints who are the Lambs followers, are con|&s;trained by their King (Chri&s;t the Power of God) to cro&s;s and &s;tand li|ving Witne&s;&s;es again&s;t you in all your fal&s;e, wicked, and deceitful pra|cti&s;es, whereby ye &s;eek, for honour and profits &s;ake, to keep His Rule &amp; Authority from ri&s;ing in the hearts of men; but He mu&s;t and &s;hall Reign, till He hath put all His enemies (within and without) under his feet, and made every one bow to his name, which is his power: turning the Bea&s;t and fal&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> Prophet or Whore that is carryed by him, into the lake of fire: for do ye think that the Lord God is not very jealous for His holy Name, (who will be the onely Law-giver of his People) when as Men-&s;hall by Lawes made in their own wills, go about to force them to do that which his pure and holy Law in their hearts, and Word, which is like fire in their bones, contradicteth? Is not this for the Bea&s;t to make direct War with the Lamb, and is it not &s;o in this Nation? but the Lamb, and the Saints by his blood, the word of their te&s;timony, and loving not their lives unto death, but pa|tiently &s;uffering, &s;hall have the Victory; and then, wo be to all the Re|bellious and proud of the Earth, &s;aith the Lord of Ho&s;ts; for a great War is begun, neither will the Lamb lay down his two edged &s;word procee|ding out of his mouth which is his word, but in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e will Judge and make War, &s;o long as there is but one Nation throughout the World that with&s;tandeth his living Truth: and we know him nearer than &s;o; that in us he will not &s;uffer one high im|agination or evil thought to exalt it &s;elf unrevenged. Wherefore re|pent of your oppo&s;ition again&s;t the Lord and his Chri&s;t, le&s;t ye be &s;lain before his face; and cea&s;e to infu&s;e fal&s;ely into the Magi&s;trates head, that he is the keeper of both Tables, thereby &s;till to animate him, to make Laws about Religion and the Wor&s;hip of God: For it is a lye every way; for he that can keep both Tables in his own parti|cular, loveth the Lord God with all his heart, and his neighbour as him&s;elf; which I am &s;ure they do not, for they have divers Idols which their hearts run after, as Pride, Riches, and Honour, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which draw their hearts from God, neither do they to their neigh|bour as they would be done by, being hard hearted, implacable, unmerciful, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> nor much le&s;&s;e can the Magi&s;trate cau&s;e both Tables to be kept by others: For can he by his outward &s;word make men love the Lord God with all their hearts, and their neighbour as them|&s;elves, or can he onely re&s;train men from doing outward wrong and violence, and con&s;train them outwardly to do ju&s;tice? which is far from keeping of both Tables of the righteous Law, as the Saints that are turned to the true light which makes manife&s;t, right well know,
<PB N="7" REF="4">Ye deny (Oh ye Prie&s;ts) Chri&s;t the Son of God to be a Prophet al&s;o, by &s;etting up your own manifold Doctrines, Inventions and Traditi|ons, in&s;tead of His pure Teachings; who being the true light that lightens every man that cometh into the World, is given by the Fa|ther of lights, to be a Covenant of light to the Nations: that who&s;o|ever of the Nations that believeth in that which makes manife&s;t his evil deeds, and cometh &s;incerely to the light to have all evil di&s;cove|red, judged down, and de&s;troyed; might find and feel the light of life quickening him up to God, and giving him power and domini|on over &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, whereby (that which letted being taken out of the way) peace and reconciliation with the Lord God of Hea|ven and Earth he might come to witne&s;&s;e: Thus is Chri&s;t the Prophet rai&s;ed up by Gods power, whom every one is to hear, le&s;t he be cut off; but ye Prie&s;ts not only not believe in this light your &s;elves, but give cautions to your people how they receive it, calling it a natural and in&s;ufficient light to lead to God, or &s;ave the &s;oul, that &s;o ye may in the room thereof, u&s;her in the Scriptures (which were but words given forth from the light) as the onely rule and guide: whereby ye get much money by repeating them to the People in a forme or me|thod; for ye know, as People come to know and follow the true teacher which is the holy anointing, or true light within them; they will be taken off from your dead words and teachings, and &s;o will no longer put into your mouths, giving their money for that which is not Bread; for ye are convinced in your own con&s;ciences that ye mini&s;ter not to the People by the pure gift of God, or Spirit's Bapti&s;m, by which the Apo&s;tles and Saints of Old mini&s;tred, who before they would &s;tir or open their mouths, waited for the Fathers promi&s;e, even the Spirit of Truth: And therefore to Salve up the matter, have ye mo&s;t fal&s;ly and corruptly di&s;tingui&s;hed between extraordinary and ordinary Mini&s;ters of the Church: the Apo&s;tles who had prophe&s;ie, Miracles, and Revelation, ye &s;ay, were extraordi|nary Mini&s;ters: which gifts cea&s;ing, ordinary Mini&s;ters God teacheth by, to wit, Pa&s;tors and Teachers, who come to be fitted thereto by ordinary meanes; as Languages, Book-Learning, Study, Indu&s;try, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Oh ye blind guides! know ye not that the gift of a Pa&s;tor or Teach|er in Chri&s;t's Church, was the effect of the Bapti&s;m of the Spirit, as well as the gift of an Apo&s;tle; Prophe&s;ie, Revelation, Miracles, or any other? and dare you to a&s;&s;ume the name of Pa&s;tors or Teachers, and yet deny the Power whereby &s;uch formerly mini&s;tred, which was the Power from on High? Is not this right-Antichri&s;t to a&s;&s;ume the
<PB N="8" REF="5">Office, and out of the Power and Life whereby it &s;hould be admini|&s;tred? Nay, denying any &s;uch thing to be now, as Revelation, or the gift of di&s;cerning of Spirits, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> without which none in the Apo&s;tles days could be Pa&s;tors or Teachers: So ye deny the true Pro|phe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">, who&s;e reaching is in all Ages one and the &s;ame to His; onely in the Apo&s;tacy from His Light and Truth, He hath bin withdrawn; but now is come to Teach and to In&s;truct His People again; that with the Light they may &s;ee, di&s;cern, and comprehend all fal&s;e Prophets; who for many years have filled the World with decait and errour, and by the &s;ame Light may &s;ee Him who is invi&s;ible, and the glory that was with Him before the World was: So &s;eeing the true Original of all, which is eternall Power and Wi&s;dom: Riches, Glory, and Honour everla&s;ting. And becau&s;e ye Prie&s;ts and blind guides are &s;werved from the light of Chri&s;t, which &s;hould be the onely Coun&s;ellour and Director, there|fore ye in your ordinary gifts, (as they are called,) which is but carnal wi&s;dowe, pre&s;ume even to &s;it in the Temple of God, as God, to wit, by your &s;everal Synods and Councils, which ye (if ye could) would have according to your own minds: who undertake to &s;et forth Ca|nons, or Rules, and Directories and Faiths, for the Wor&s;hip of God, and to excommunicate, and receive in; and to judge of Truth and Error; and to u&s;e the Magi&s;trate to enjoyn by puni&s;hment the ob&s;ervance thereof: although Chri&s;t the true Prophet hath directed his People in a new and living way; who&s;e teachings and directions the&s;e Prie&s;ts either wholly deny, or think in&s;ufficient, or el&s;e they would never pre&s;ume to &s;et forth Canons, Directories, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> for the people of God to walk by. Thus are ye di&s;covered to be compleat Antichri&s;t; nor want ye any thing of the Pope and his Clergy, in e&s;|&s;ential matters, for all your pretended Reformation, onely in &s;ome &s;uper&s;titions, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;&s;e material, ye differ: If ye &s;hall &s;ay, Ye are wronged, in that the Pope takes on him to forgive &s;ins, as Chri&s;t's Vicar, which is a high pre&s;umption, which ye are not guilty of; I &s;ay, you are guil|ty of the &s;ame thing in your corrupted Judgments, and would &s;oon make it appear by practi&s;e, were ye not by God's providence re&s;trai|ned; for the Pope's forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins is no more than a declaration outwardly of what he thinks God doth confirme in heaven, by ver|tue of his Office or Chaire, as <HI>Peter</HI>'s Succe&s;&s;or; and ye in your &s;eve|ral Synods and Presbyteries, appropriate the power of excommuni|cation, or binding and loo&s;ing, to your &s;elves, by vertue (as ye think) of Faith and Office; and wherein lyes the difference betwixt you,
<PB N="9" REF="5" MS="y">&s;ave in this, That the Pope's pre&s;umption is Monarchical, or done by one man, and yours (as I may &s;ay), Ari&s;tocratical, or done by divers, whom ye count the chief of the Church; and what difference is there between one to be called Chri&s;t's Vicar, and out of his life; and ye to call your&s;elves his Mini&s;ters, Pa&s;tors, and Elders, and be out of it al&s;o: And as for Merits or Ju&s;tification by works, which ye count a damnable Doctrine among the Papi&s;ts, which ye &s;ay ye utterly deny: See the &s;mal difference betwixt them and you herein; for ye both, looking upon a Chri&s;t without, after the fle&s;h, but denying the true light within, they think Chri&s;t died and &s;uffered, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> to make their works meritorious; &amp; ye &s;ay, your works are accepted for his death and &s;ufferings, and Interce&s;&s;ion's &s;ake; though neither of you (being not come to true <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> light in your &s;elvs, which leads to the life, which is the blood, in which all works &s;hould be done and performed) can, in truth, &s;en&s;e, and feeling, witne&s;&s;e acceptation, one no more than the other; &s;o that ye, praying, &s;inging and preaching in your Steeple-hou&s;es, fa&s;ting, or doing any other work in your own Wills, ye mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity look for an acceptation of them for the deed done, if ye will have any, as well as the Papi&s;ts, &s;eeing ye know not a living Chri&s;t in you, in which they mu&s;t be accepted. As for Images, which the Papi&s;ts wor&s;hip: ye make your &s;elves, and &s;ervices, Images for the people to wor&s;hip: as al&s;o the Lawes of men, which ye &s;ay are to be obeyed in the things of God, which is a more my&s;terious and dange|rous Idolatry, becau&s;e not &s;o gro&s;ly and plainly appearing, and therefore not &s;o ea&s;ily to be avoided: al&s;o ye call the Steeple-hou&s;e or Tower-hou&s;e, a Church, which is gro&s;s and &s;otti&s;h I dolatry. And whereas perhaps ye will &s;ay, the Pope &s;elleth Pardons and, Indulgences for mony, as he did when <HI>Lu|ther</HI> fell off from him; Can ye make me believe that the &s;ame thing (in effect) would not appear among you Prie&s;ts, if your Government were e&s;tabli&s;hed, who now make gain the chief Motive of your prea|ching, and take mony for &s;prinkling Infants, Marriages, Burials, Fu|neral Sermons, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Would there not be partiality and re&s;pect of per&s;ons among you, in admitting people to your communion, and in your proceedings in ca&s;ting our and receiving into your Church? Have no &s;uch things appeared in <HI>Scotland</HI> among their Presbyteries? or in New-<HI>England</HI> at any time? or among you? Did not the Pa&s;tor or Teacher of <HI>Bo&s;ton</HI> in New-<HI>England,</HI> not long ago, when the Elder|&s;hip (&s;o called) would have excommunicated the Keeper of Bride|wel for his mo&s;t cruel and inhumane u&s;age of one of our friends, (through malice and enmity to the Seed of God) hinder their procee|dings
<PB N="10" REF="6">again&s;t him? and do not malice and enmity proceed from the &s;ame Root, as Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, Re&s;pect of Per&s;ons, and the Love of mony do? Nay, did not the Apo&s;tate Greek Church, for 1200 years age, call one of their Synods or Councels, to wit, the Councel of <HI>E|phe&s;us,</HI> Robbing, or a Councel of Robbers? and are not all the&s;e Syn|ods, whether Oeconomical, National, Provincial, Cla&s;&s;ical, or Pa|roc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ial, in one and the &s;ame ground? and have they not proceeded from one &amp; the &s;ame Root, as others before them have done, &amp; what then can be expected but the &s;ame fruit?</P>
<P>Wherefore, Oh ye Parliament of <HI>England,</HI> open your eyes and &s;ee what a Go&s;pel-Mini&s;try ye do at pre&s;ent, and think ye ought to, main|tain, as are the Prie&s;ts: and con&s;ider that in &s;o doing, ye are but the Bea&s;t &s;poken of by <HI>John</HI> in his Revelation, which carried the Whore, and &s;o are enemies to Chri&s;t's Kingdome. Know ye a&s;&s;vredly, That whil&s;t ye do this, the hand of the Lord is again&s;t you, and the Lamb will never cea&s;e making War with you by his Saints, his Followers, and that by the Word of his Mouth ye &s;hall be &s;lain: and if ye will not withdraw your power from &s;upporting, and by Laws upholding the&s;e fal&s;e Prophets, and their Maintenance; (for denying of which, and divers other things, the Saints have greatly &s;uffered, and are &s;till lya|ble thereunto); that both ye and they &s;hall go down into the Pit to|gether, for the Mouth of the Lord hath &s;poken it: who&s;e anger is hot in this his day, again&s;t all unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of men, wherewith the earth hath been long corrupted and burdened; who hath looked down from heaven in pitty, and at length vi&s;ited his captivated Seed, and wo be to the Oppre&s;&s;our which in the day of the Lord's delive|rance would &s;till hold it in the chains of Babyloni&s;h captivity. There|fore chu&s;e you whether ye will now leave a good &s;avour behind you, or a &s;tink in the no&s;trils of God and his People; whether ye will be accounted tho&s;e that undo every yoak, and let the oppre&s;&s;ed go free, or Magi&s;trates that bear not the Sword in vain, but &s;uch as are a ter|rour to evill doers, (of whom the Prie&s;ts are the chief) and a prai&s;e to them that do well: or whether ye will, by the Saints who do and &s;hall walk in the light of the Lamb, be e&s;teemed the Bea&s;t which pu&s;heth at the Saints and innocent Ones, which (&s;aith <HI>John</HI>) opened his mouth in Bla&s;phemy again&s;t God to bla&s;pheme his Name, and his Tabernacle and tho&s;e that dwell in heaven, mi&s;calling the truth, calling them Sectaries, Heretiques, Seducers, Enthu&s;ia&s;ts, Troublers of <HI>I&s;rael, &amp;c.</HI> Know this Oh thou Parliament! and all future par|liaments, that while the fal&s;e Prophet<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> in this or the&s;e three Nations, are upheld of you by a Law, or any kind of &s;et-maintenance what&s;oe|ver
<PB N="11" REF="6">that the Seed and Saints of God mu&s;t needs &s;uffer: and if &s;o, How can a Ble&s;&s;ing, and not a Cur&s;e, from the Lord God of heaven and earth, be expected? For this is the Lord's promi&s;e, to his Church in the la&s;t daies, The Nation that will not &s;erve thee &s;hall peri&s;h, yea, (&s;aith God) tho&s;e Nations &s;hall be utterly wa&s;ted: Wherefore, &s;ince it's hard for you (though great and lofty) to kick again&s;t the pricks; and for ye Pot-&s;heards of the earth to &s;trive again&s;t your Maker; and &s;ince the Lord God Almighty hath decreed the utter ruine of the Whore, that hath bewitched all Nations from his pure life by her Sorceries and Iuchantments, and &s;ince the Prie&s;ts are &s;een by the light of Chri&s;t, to be &s;uch Sorcerers, and the generality of the&s;e three Na|tions to be thus bewitched; I advi&s;e you in the love of the Lord (O ye of the Parliament, and all other that are called Magi&s;trates, to break off your &s;ins by repentance in your own particulars, to wit, your Pride, Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, love of Money, the Honour and Glory of this wicked World, re&s;pect of Per&s;ons, giving and receiving Honour one of ano|ther, Courting one another, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which hinders you from believing in the true light, which will &s;hew you, and reprove you for all the&s;e things, and more, if ye hearken to it, and in humility and lowline&s;s of mind, do &s;eek the honour that cometh from God onely; which is his gracious acquittance and acceptance of all the penitent, who turn unto him, with their whole hearts, &s;tamping his Image and Mark upon them, &amp; by his eternal Spirit witne&s;&s;ing in their con&s;cien|ces that they are his, and &s;hall receive an eternal Inheritance as Co|heires with Chri&s;t; this is honour enough, and will bla&s;t all the fading Honour and Glory of the World as a flowr: And Oh ye Magi&s;trates &amp; Rulers! till ye come to witne&s;&s;e &s;omewhat of this in your own parti|culars, I cannot expect that ye &s;hould act aright and thorowly for God: Now there is a Prophe&s;ie in <HI>John</HI>'s Revelation, that the Kings of the Earth &s;hall bring their Honour &amp; Glory into the Holy City, new <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> that comes down from God out of Heaven; As any of you &s;hall do &s;o, ye will truly and freely give all Honour to the Lord, and expect none but what He giveth you: then would none of you dare to make any Law again&s;t the Saints or the Truth; but on the contra|ry: Or to maintain the fal&s;e Prophet, but would leave him to him&s;elf, to &s;tand upon his own Legs; but into this (O ye Rulers of the Earth) ye are not yet come, but are at pre&s;ent &s;eeking your own Honour, Pro|fit and Intere&s;ts, and being out of Gods living Power, run to State-po|licy, to make that your refuge, and a cover for your pre&s;ent actings; &s;aying, if we &s;hould not maintain and uphold a National Mini<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tery,
<PB N="12" REF="7">we &s;hould not be like any nation; and the Nation it &s;elf would be &s;o incen&s;ed and divided, that the de&s;truction thereof would be feared; al&s;o how &s;hould &s;o many Mini&s;ters with their Families live? Now ye Magi&s;tra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">es and Rulers, con&s;ider in the fear of God, where ye are that thus rea&s;on: where were the Jews when they for&s;ook and &s;tood not in the coun&s;el of the Lord, but would be as other Nations: And &s;hall the Antichri&s;tian State in the &s;everal Nations (think ye) uphold it &s;elf alwayes by the Nations taking example by each other, &s;o as to prevent the intended purpo&s;e of the Lord God in the Whore of <HI>Baby|lons</HI> de&s;truction? A&s;&s;ure your &s;elves that this block will not hinder An|tichri&s;ts Kingdome in this Nation one moment the longer from fal|ling, than the Lord God hath determined. Then, as for the fear of &s;o greatly incen&s;ing and dividing the Nation, know ye not, that tho&s;e who &s;tand &s;imply and &s;ingly in the coun&s;el of the Lord faithfully to do his will, &s;hall be carried thorow all oppo&s;ition and danger? doth any thing weaken and deject the hearts and &s;pirits of men but &s;in? I find nothing &s;o to do; while the Jews of old, kept out of tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion again&s;t the Lord, the promi&s;e was, one &s;hould cha&s;e ten, and ten put a thou&s;and to flight; So ye, if ye knew the will of God, and had &s;incere hearts to do it, need not fear what man could do: yea, I affirm A ble&s;&s;ing &s;hould be in your right hand, and upon the Nation, &s;o as it &s;hould be pre&s;erved in peace and plenty; for this is the Lords promi&s;e, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 77. that as his way is known upon Earth, and his &s;aving health unto all Nations, the People &s;hall prai&s;e the name of the Lord, and be glad and &s;ing for joy; becau&s;e the Lord &s;hall Judge &amp; Govern he Na|tions Righteou&s;ly upon the Earth; then (&s;aith the Spirit) &s;hall the Earth yield her increa&s;e, and God even our own God &s;hall ble&s;&s;e us; God &s;hall ble&s;s us, and all the ends of the Earth &s;hall fear him. And is not this a beggerly and &s;lavi&s;h thing (though bearing the &s;hew of charity and pitty) to let the fear of an outward livelyhood, of &s;ome, to be a hinderance of doing the will of God, who giveth life &amp; breath &amp; all things. Hath not Chri&s;t &s;aid, and do not the Prie&s;ts acknowledge and Preach as much; that men &s;hould fir&s;t &s;eek the Kingdom of God and the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e thereof, and all other things &s;hall be added? Now if the Prie&s;ts State and Kingdom be di&s;covered by the light, to be a Kingdom of darkne&s;&s;e, for which cau&s;e they ought not to be upheld and maintained by the Magi&s;trate; Let them fir&s;t of all repent and be humble, and come to the Light which leads the way into Gods Kingdom, which &s;tands in Peace, Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, Purity, Holine&s;&s;e, and Joy in the Holy Spirit; &s;o waiting and &s;eeking for this Kingdom, in the light, out of their own Wills and Wi&s;doms, and the Lord by
<PB N="13" REF="7">his providence will &s;urely provide for them and theirs: for there is enough in the Creation for every one with contentment. And love is with the Saints, who know allought to be fed and nouri&s;hed in an hone&s;t, upright and ju&s;t, but not in an unju&s;t way: and therefore can they not pay them (in the way they are in) one &s;ix pence willingly, though 'twere to the lo&s;&s;e of all. Be&s;ides, Oh ye Rulers! doth the Lord God &s;ay any where that <HI>Babylon</HI> &s;hould be a whit the more &s;pa|red for Merchants Wives and Childrens &s;akes? What is a worldly Intere&s;t to the glory of God, and the Salvation of Souls? Wherefore lay ye a&s;ide, I advi&s;e you, the&s;e and all &s;uch &s;lavi&s;h objections: for they will not ju&s;tifie or excu&s;e your actings before the Throne of God, or an&s;wer to that of God in your con&s;ciences, which calleth for Ju&s;tice, Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, Holine&s;&s;e and Equity. And ye people of the Nati|on, con&s;ider, that it is not a leight thing that ye are deceived, deluded, and captivated by the Prie&s;ts and &s;al&s;e Prophets, &s;o as to believe lyes: for, &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, the man of &s;in &s;hould come with all deceive-ablene&s;&s;e of unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in them that peri&s;h, who becau&s;e they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be &s;aved, there|fore God gave them up to &s;trong delu&s;ions to believe lies: that they all might be damned, who believe not the Truth, but have plea&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: Mark People, the man of &s;in, the Spirit of er|rour which worketh in the My&s;tery of iniquity, deceiveth with all unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and tho&s;e who have plea&s;ure in that unrighteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e; but love not the truth, are &s;uffered to beieve lies that they all may be damned: Oh lamentable! Little do people think what Coals of Indignation they heap upon their own heads, that hate the light that reproveth their evil deeds and deceit, and yet call them&s;elves Chri&s;tians, that plead for the Prie&s;ts, the Bea&s;t, and the Whore, and Idol-wor&s;hips, and &s;in as long as they live: hating, revi&s;ing, deriding, and per&s;ecuting the Saints who &s;tand as Witne&s;&s;es with Chri&s;t the Light again&s;t all the&s;e things. Heate al&s;o what <HI>John</HI> &s;aith <HI>Revelations</HI> 13. (which Book is a Prophe&s;ie of the&s;e times) &s;aith he, All that dwell upon the Earth &s;hall wor&s;hip the Bea&s;t, who&s;e names are not written in the Book of Life, of the Lamb &s;lain from the Foundation of the World (if any man hath an ear to hear let him hear:) where by he &s;heweth) that its a thing of great concernment for people to con&s;ider who they wor&s;hip, fear, obey and &s;erve, whether God, or Man, and his Laws and Will, le&s;t they are for ever excluded from, and never enjoy a part in eternal life. But perhaps, people, ye will &s;ay, what is it to wor&s;hip the Bea&s;t or his Image or likene&s;&s;e; For we &s;carce know what thou meane&s;t?</P>
<P><PB N="14" REF="8">To wor&s;hip the Bea&s;t or his Image, is to do what&s;oever the fal&s;e Antichri&s;tian Powers of the Earth &s;hall command you to do and obey in the faith and &s;ervice of God; &s;o as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">f they command what Religion people &s;hould profe&s;&s;e, what manner or form of wor&s;hip they &s;hall u&s;e in their Steeple-hou&s;es, what they &s;hall do again&s;t the Saints and Servants of the Lord, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> they are ready (like <HI>I&s;&s;achar</HI> who bowed down his back to the burden) to ob&s;erve the &s;ame, not minding or con&s;idering what the light of Chri&s;t in their con&s;ciences tells them, or leads them unto, and whether it be plea&s;ing or di&s;plea&s;ing in the &s;ight of God; &s;o that if the Magi&s;trate will have them keep a Fa&s;t, they keep it, or a natural day for a Sabbath, they will ob&s;erve it; or to hear Praying in their Steeple-hou&s;es fir&s;t, then Reading, then &s;inging of a P&s;alm, then Praying again, then Preaching in the Prie&s;t's dead form, then Praying again, and then a Ble&s;&s;ing (&s;o called) on the Peo|ple: they readily do and hear all, and &s;o in other things, though out of the life of God in which all Sacrifices &s;hould be offered up; and not moved thereto by the Spirit of God. Or if the Magi&s;trate com|mand any of them to hale the Saints to pri&s;on, or otherwi&s;e puni&s;h them, they will do it, &s;aying, In all &s;uch things, we are commanded by the higher Powers, and therefore we mu&s;t obey: This, People, I de|clare, is to obey Man, rather than God; yea, grievous Idolatry, for the Lord &s;aith in every one of you, Thou &s;hall have no other Gods but me: now what a man &s;erveth and obeyeth, that is his god; &s;o the Lord all this while is forgotten, who is the higher Power; and man, an empty &amp; nothing-Creature obey'd, which mu&s;t needs kindle his holy anger again&s;t all &s;uch Idolaters, for he hath &s;aid, His glory will He not give to another, nor His prai&s;e to any graven Image; now, People, that is not onely an Image, which is made of Wood or Stone, but what|ever created thing any &s;ets up in his heart to &s;erve or obey, be&s;ides, or more than his Creator: The&s;e &s;ayings are true and faithful. Therefore fear and tremble all people before the Mighty God, who made the Heavens and the Earth, and all that is therein; who gives man his be|ing upon the Earth, &amp; time and means to come out of his fallen and cur&s;ed e&s;tate by di&s;obedience, which meanes, is by his Son Chri&s;t the &s;econd Adam, who is made a quickning Spirit to all that receive Him, who is the true Light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the World, whereby they may &s;ee their evil thoughts, words, wayes, &amp; works, and have Power, by believing in the light, to overcome the evil with good, that &s;o, the evil being for&s;aken, and the good cleaved unto, they (by the power &amp; beauty thereof) may be transformed into the pure Image of God, which was lo&s;t by the Fall, whereby the whole Creation
<PB N="15" REF="8">hath bin brought out of order: that &s;o peace &amp; reconciliation with their Creator, they may come to feel in them&s;elves, which is a mo&s;t happy and ble&s;&s;ed condition; for this I bear my Te&s;timony unto, before all Nations upon the Earth, that they can never come to enjoy peace with the Living pure Lord God of Life, in who&s;e favour is Life; any further than they come out of &s;in and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and feel their hearts purged and clean&s;ed from the filth thereof; for the Lord is pure and holy, who can behold no iniquity without reproof, where|ever he finds it: So that its but in vain for any one to talk or think of ju&s;tification by a Chri&s;t without, and not to feel his living vertue, purifying their &s;ouls by his good &s;pirit within them, but denying it there; for none but the pure in heart ever did, or ever &s;hall &s;ee the face of the pure God. Wherefore, ye people of <HI>England,</HI> let not the Prie&s;ts deceive you any longer with their too <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">row coverings, and with the pillows they have &s;o long &s;ewed under your arm-holes, for lucre|&s;ake, whereby ye have been lulled a&s;leep in a wicked &s;ecurity, thin|king your &s;elves good Chri&s;tians if ye have but kept your Church, as ye call it (which to the Peoples under&s;tanding hath bin no more but a Steeple-hou&s;e, which is like the Papi&s;ts) and had an outward confor|mity of Religion, though out of the power of godline&s;&s;e, living in all manner of &s;in and licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e; for now is the Lord ri&s;en to awaken the Earth, having put life into his witne&s;&s;es again, who can|not but Prophe&s;ie, and te&s;tifie again&s;t the World, that their deeds are evil, though they &s;uffer unto death therefore, as &s;ome of the Lords &s;ervants have (within this few years) done: that &s;o the Lords purpo&s;e in rai&s;ing them up, may be accompli&s;hed; which is to gather his precious &s;eed which &s;hall inherit the promi&s;e of life, and to lay the wicked and di&s;obedient under eternal condemnation; for the Go&s;|pel of the Kingdom is like a Net ca&s;t into the Sea, which having ga|thered and drawn to &s;hoare both the good and the bad, the good are received into Ve&s;&s;els, and the bad are ca&s;t away: So righteous <HI>Abel</HI> and his offering is accepted, but <HI>Cain,</HI> the wicked one, envious and murderer, is rejected, and is but a Vagabond, though he build a City; for the day of the Lord burns, and &s;hall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly &s;hall be &s;tubble: and the day cometh that &s;hall burn them up, that it &s;hall leave them neither Root nor Branch; but unto tho&s;e that fear the name of the Lord, &s;hall the Sun of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e ari&s;e with healing in his wings, and they &s;hall go forth and grow up as Calves in the Stall, and they &s;hall tread down the wicked, for they &s;hall be as a&s;hes under the &s;oles of their feet, as already they appear to be.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
