^TESTIMONY
OF
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING,
EXEMPLIFIED BY THE
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE
OF THE
TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
HISTORY
OF THE
PROGRESSIVE WORK OF GOD, EXTENDING FROM THE CREATION OF
MAN TO THE " H A RV E S T, "—COMPRISING THE FOUR
GREAT DISPENSATIONS NOW CONSUMMATING IN THE
MILLENNIAL CHURCH.
"Now has come Salvation, and Strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and
the Power of his Christ. "---Rev. xii. 10.
ANTICHRIST'S KINGDOM,
OR
CHURCHES,
CONTRASTED WITH THE
CHURCH OF CHRIST'S FIRST AND
SECOND APPEARING,
THE KINGDOM OF THE COD OF HEAVEN.
" IN THE DAY9 OF THESE KINGS SHALL THE GoD OF HEAVEN SET UP A KINGDOM,
WHICH SHALL NEVER BE DESTROYED." — Dan. U. 44.
PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED SOCIETY, J
CALLED _ ^ '■"'' -
FOURTH EDITION. *!> \
VAN BENTHUYSEN, PRINTER, ALBANY, 1856.
r
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
The first edition of this work was printed in the year 1808, at
Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio. But, it being too small to answer
the demand, a second edition was printed in 1810. at Albany,
New- York, with such improvements as were found expedient for
the better understanding of the matters therein contained. Also,
a third edition was printed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the year 1823.
2. This work was written and sent forth, as declaring that
spiritual light and wisdom sent down from the heavenly orders
above, by the inspired teachings of the Holy Spirit, of which all seeiCor.
the faithful members of this society are living witnesses, by il,12> 13,
practical experience of the power and efficacy of the principles
thus revealed.
3. The idea which so extensively prevails, that all inspired
revelation ceased with the canon of Scripture, is inconsistent with
both reason and Scripture. It is not unreasonable to suppose,
that the spiritual work of .God should alone remain stationary,
whilst all the natural arts and sciences among men, are continually
improving and increasing, by newly manifested principles of
natural light, and are constantly progressing more and more, by
the knowledge and further application of the original principles
from whence all these are derived ?
4. It may be seen by every attentive observer, that these
natural revealments and improvements are now more frequent
and rapidly developing and increasing, in the present age and
time, than in any preceding age of the world. Therefore we
may consistently conclude, that the spiritual work of God must
be increasing and improving in a corresponding progression, or
the things of by far the greatest importance will be left behind ;
for, in comparison with the spiritual work of redemption and sal-
vation, all earthly knowledge, and all natural improvements,
sink into insignificance.
5. For, though man should gain all the natural knowledge in
the universe, he could not thereby gain either the knowledge ox-
power of salvation from sin, nor redemption from a sinful nature ;
because the world, by natural wisdom, never did, and never can, SeeiCor.
know God. Hence we see the indispensable necessity of a con- L 81"
tinual influx and application of Divine principles, in order to
know the things that concern the eternal welfare of the soul, and
to enable man " to work the works of God ; " and these can only
iv PREFACE TO THE
1 Cor ii II.
be received by the revelation of the Spirit of God ; "for the things
of God, knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."
6. In no part of the Scriptures can the least intimation be found
that the revelations of the Divine and Holy Spirit to man will
ever cease ; but many declarations to the contrary. Our Saviour
See Luke, says, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him ? " Such as deny those heavenly
Seejas. iv. gifts, have not, because they ask not." And if they ask, they
2'3, "receive not, because they ask amiss, that they may consume
(those good things) upon their lusts:" that is apply them to
support their own natural desires. Thus the Saviour and his
Apostles show the reason of that general barrenness of spiritual
gifts among all denominations. But ancient prophecy foretells a
wonderful influx of spiritual manifestations "in the last days."
7. Thus, by the Prophet Joel, it was expressly declared, that
See Joel, ii. God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh : and that a wonder-
as, 3-2. fuj diffusion 0f spiritual gifts, and great signs and wonders should
be manifested. This prophecy was quoted by the Apostle Peter,
See Acts, as particularly applying to " the last days." He indeed refers it
to the outpouring of the Spirit at the day of Pentecost. But, as
Seel Cor. *^e Apostle testified that they "knew in part, and prophesied in
atiii- 9, io. part, this prophecy could be but in part fulfilled under that dis-
pensation. Besides this, the Spirit was far from being poured
out upon all flesh in that day.
8. But Peter foretells a much greater work, "in the times of
refreshing which should come from the presence of the Lord,"
in a future dispensation, which he calls "the times of restitution
of all things," when Jesus (i.e. the Anointed Saviour,) should
See Rev. again be sent forth; for the '■'■restitution of all things" could
end U l° n°k ta^e place un*il the second appearing of Christ, which is
the greatest and last dispensation that will be ushered into the
world.
9. This dispensation evidently contains those last days fore-
told in the prophecy aforesaid. In these days, God will judge
the world in righteousness, and appoint all things and beings to
their proper order and state, which will be justly meted out.
This work being the ultimate of all the works of God from the
creation of the world, cannot be effected without the manifesta-
tions of Divine light and power, greater than has ever before
See Mat. taken place from the beginning ; otherwise "the harvest of the
xiii. 30. world," and the restitution of all things, cannot be accomplished
thereby.
10. According to all the movements of Providence, in the
civil, political, and ecclesiastical orders of the world, and from
the general and earnest expectation of all classes among the
human race, of the near approach of some great and marvelous
FOURTH EDITION.
displays of Divine power, which will bring the world to its con-
summation, it is evident that the " great day of God Almighty,''''
has commenced in the world.
11. Therefore, in the display of his Divine Providence, He
has opened the avenues of correspondence from the spirit-world
to mortals on earth, and poured out his Spirit, in various degrees,
by which the many wonderful events, both natural and spiritual,
have been brought forth in the natural world. And these dis-
plays will doubtless continue to increase, in the orders of both
Providence and grace, in greater and more spiritual degrees, of
higher and higher orders, until the prophecy will be fulfilled,
that the Spirit and Divine influence will be "poured out upon
all flesh."
12. And we testify, that all true members of this Society are
living witnesses that the great and last dispensation has com-
menced ; and that the marvelous revelations, spiritual gifts,
signs, and wonders, predicted to take place " i n the last days,''1
have been, and are being, fulfilled in so plain and evident a
manner as cannot be disputed by any rational and candid mind.
13. This order of people originated in spiritual and Divine
revelation from the heavenly orders above ; and they have been
continually supported, and have advanced in various degrees, by
an influx of Divine revelations and heavenly ministrations with
increasing light, adapted to their state, up to the present time.
14. But it was foretold by the spirit of prophecy, years before
the event began, that a wonderful work of Divine revelation and
heavenly gifts, light, and power, would take place in and among
this people, in the fiftieth year after the gathering together of
their United Society commenced, which would be as an antetype
of the ancient Jewish jubilee. Accordingly, during the year
1838, a most wonderful manifestation of Divine revelation and
heavenly light and power, simultaneously commenced in the two
central societies, and in a few months visited every branch and
family of the people called Shakers, throughout the land.
15. This work was attended with all those operations of Di-
vine light, gifts, and power, enumerated by the Apostle in 1 Cor.
xii. ; particularly verses seven to eleven, inclusive. These
heavenly gifts being adapted to all states and circumstances,
much new light was revealed by them on many important sub-
jects. But this subject is more fully treated of in Book viii.
chap. xi.
16. But we will here just state, that it was foretold, in these
manifestations, that when the general and extraordinary diffusion
of those spiritual gifts should, in some measure, cease among
the Believers in the present dispensation of Christ's second
appearing, that then similar manifestations would go forth into
the world, and operate among them in various manners according
VI PREFACE.
to their state.* Accordingly, this prophecy has been evidently
fulfilled, and is fulfilling, in such manner as to demonstrate its
certain truth.
17. By the means of these manifestations, so great a degree
of important light has been received into the minds of many of
our fellow men, upon spiritual subjects, and those things which
concern their present and eternal welfare, that they appear to be
better prepared than heretofore, more fully to understand and
appreciate the doctrines of this Society. From the aforesaid
manifestations, together wish our own experience and travel for
many years, in the principles and practice of this community,
as in the subsequent pages set forth, much increasing light has
been gained upon many important subjects.
18. Therefore it has been judged expedient to issue the
present edition, with such further illustrations and improvements
as to us appear adapted to the present order of the work of God,
both within and without this Society ; it therefore has been pre-
pared in accordance with the increasing Divine light brought forht
among us by those inspired manifestations and our experience.
19. For this purpose, the work throughout has been critically
examined and carefully revised by the primary author, with such
approved and experienced assistance as appeared proper and
necessary, in order to render the subjects treated of, clear to the
understanding of the reader. It may therefore be considered
as A general EXPOSITION of the rudimental principles, faith,
and manner of life, maintained by the United Society of people
called Shakers ; yet it is not intended as a creed or standard of
orthodoxy, to bind the faith and conscience of any from improve-
ment ; but is simply a manifestation of the travel and light of
the Church ; leaving the door still open as heretofore, for any
further increase that may be made manifest by heavenly light.
Seeisa. ix. For it is according to our faith, "that of the increase of
7 . & Luke, Christ's kingdom, to order and establish it, there shall be no
l'33* end."
20. And now, with the sincerest desires for the good of all
mankind, this volume is most earnestly and affectionately pre-
sented for the information and benefit of all candid inquirers
after truth, of every nation, sect, and denomination, by
BENJAMIN S. YOUNGS,
CALVIN GREEN.
Watervlett, ( Wisdom's Valley) ^
near Albany, State of New- >
York, Dec. 1854. )
* It should be distinctly understood, that special inspired gifts have not ceased,
but still continue among this people.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION,
Many have undertaken to write and publish concerning the
principles and practices of a people, who are called Shakers,
and either through ignorance or prejudice have misrepresented
both; so that no true information, from this quarter, could be
obtained by those who desired it. Hence many have become
solicitous of having, from the people themselves, a correct state-
ment of their faith. It is, therefore, in answer to the repeated
requests of the unprejudiced and candid part of mankind, that
the following work has been written.
2. The greatest part that has been published abroad in the
world, by common fame, or through such preachers or writers as
were either unacquainted with the people, or actuated by a spirit
of prejudice, is too ridiculous, absurd, and contradictory, to merit
the least attention ; nor has any thing been published that meets
our approbation, except a small pamphlet, entitled, " A concise.
Statement of the Principles of the only True Church,'''' written
to a deaf man, by particular request, and printed at Bennington,
Vermont, in the year 1790 : and a pamphlet published last year,
under the title of The Kentucky Revival.
3. Some things, however, have been published from a spirit of
detraction and slander, which are not altogether unworthy of
notice, inasmuch as they have some appearance of authority, and
claim for their foundation, certain well known facts; from which
undue advantage has been taken, not only of stating facts in an
imperfect light, but also of adding the most groundless falsities.
4. These remarks will justly apply to most of the assumed ac-
counts of this people, which have been and are circulated in mag-
azines, pamphlets, newspapers, &c, [even to the present time,
1856,] with some honorable exceptions, which, though they exhibit
good intentions, are more or less deficient of competent knowledge.
It is not our design, however, to notice and counterplead particu-
lar scandals and deceptions of this sort, sent forth from evident
malice, envy, or ignorance. On the contrary, we prefer that
such should die the natural death of falsehood and deception.
For we are fully assured that truth will stand ; and the fabric
built thereon will appear more and more glorious, and, with all
honest souls that trust therein, will sta?id for ever. While false-
hood and deception \i\\\fail ; and every fabric built, or attempted
viii PREFACE TO THE
to be supported thereon, will more and more appear in all its
hideous deformity, and, with all that continue to trust therein,
will ultimately fall, to rise no more forever.
5. Long experience and observation, however, have afforded
sufficient evidence, that the most eminently virtuous and useful
characters on earth, have been the most scandalized and traduced
by the tongue of common fame ; insomuch that men of prudence
and candor, in many cases, are able to see through the deception,
and reasonably expect the best where the worst is said.
6. Probably no work of God, in any dispensation, has been
more misrepresented than the present, nor any people more
wrongly reported ; yet it is no unpleasing reflection to us, that,
from the beginning of the work to the present day, we have never
published any reply to any of those reports, (however evil and
false we knew them to be,) either in defence of our character, or
the cause we have espoused; but have peaceably passed on,
without regarding them any more than if they had not been ; and
that for the following reasons :
7. First. Because the testimony which we gladly received,
pointed out to us a very straight and narrow way of self-denial
and mortification to all that natural men call good and great,
and opened to us that hidden treasure which we esteemed so far
beyond any thing we possessed, or wished to possess, on earth,
that we were willing cheerfully to sacrifice our character and our
all, to obtain it; so that the world could take nothing from us
that we were unwilling to part with for Christ's sake and the
Gospel.
8. Therefore, whatever evil was reported, being conscious of
our innocence, it only served to increase our consolation in Christ,
and afforded an increasing evidence to the candid and judicious,
that we were following the despised footsteps of him who said,
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my
sake.
9. Secondly. With regard to the defence of the cause in which
we were engaged. We had long been weary of those human
creeds and confessions, and subtle arguments, written in defence
of divided and subdivided parties, which for many ages had per-
plexed the human race, and, in the end, left their abettors (and
us with the rest) totally destitute of the real power of salvation
from all sin.
10. When, therefore, we were called by the Gospel, and
received that anointing power which bringeth salvation, we were
led and influenced by the spirit of the work, (and found it to be
a point of wisdom,) first to prove for ourselves, the faith we had
received, and to manifest it by our works, as the greatest con-
firmation, both to ourselves and others, that the work was verily
FIRST EDITION. ix
of God, before we could feel justified in giving that full and per-
fect information which the weight and importance of the subject
demands. For, until it was sufficiently proved, that the Gospel
which we had received, was, in its own nature, productive of the
works and fruits of righteousness, justice, mercy and peace, and
that it was planted by the finger of God, and nourished and sup-
ported by his wisdom and power, separate from, and wholly
independent of, all human laws and creeds of men, we never could
with a just confidence and propriety say, Thus has God wrought.
11. The Third, and most weighty reason why we have never
made any reply to those clamorous reports, and given a public
statement of our faith and practice, was, that we could not have
done it without acting contrary to the order of God in every dis-
pensation of his work. It was the gift of God to Moses, long
after the flood, to record the lives and transactions of the
Patriarchs ; and the character and works of all the servants of
God. always remained to be published by their successors, or
those who enjoyed the fruits of their labors; for no testament is
of force while the testator liveth.
12. Christ Jesus, while engaged in the work of his ministry,
strictly charged his disciples to tell no man that he was the Christ.
And many things were said and done, which were known only to
his disciples, and kept closely concealed, to prevent the vain specu-
lations of the world. He well knew the inveterate malice of
his enemies, who were continually watching for something
whereby they might condemn him ; and at last they accused and
condemned him as a blasphemer, and worthy of death, for inti-
mating that he was sent of God, although his works plainly de-
clared it.
13. It is also evident, that the testimony of the Apostles was
verbal for years, and nothing was written for the information of
those who were unacquainted with the work of Jesus Christ, or
at a distance from where the first scene was transacted, until the
work of that day was fully established; and even then, their
writings and sayings were far from being common ; but were
kept close, and spread no farther than the operation of the Spirit
of God had prepared the way for them to be received by faith.
Therefore it need not seem strange, if the circumstances prece-
ding the public opening of Christ's second appearing, should
be similar to those of hh first appearing.
14. The second appearing of Christ, commonly called the
Millennium, or latter day of glory, has ever been considei-ed
as a period of the greatest importance to mankind universally,
inasmuch as all the prophecies of the holy Scriptures were then
to have their final accomplishment ; and every threatening of
God to be fully executed upon the ungodly and sinners, in the
final overthrow of their unjust and oppressive governments, their
X PREFACE TO THE
false and pernicious superstitions, and all their unrighteous works.
On the other hand, all the promises of God to his people, were
then to be fulfilled, in their final redemption from all the sorrow-
ful effects of the fall; in building them up in holiness,
righteousness, everlasting peace, and true felicity ; and en-
riching them with all the fulness of temporal and eternal
goodness.
15. But it never was intended, nor could it be expected, upon
any principle of reason or truth, that all those things should be
accomplished at once, but, according to the usual manner of
God's working, they must gradually proceed from small begin-
nings, and continue to operate in a progressive manner, from one
degree to another, as a small seed planted in its proper season,
springs up, and grows into a tree. The beginning of this great
event we have stated, according to the degree and measure of
what has already taken place. And although it may appear to
some as a day of small things, we are, nevertheless, persuaded
beyond a doubt, that the same who has begun the good work,
will carry it on until the whole be accomplished.
16. It is reasonable to suppose that mankind, so long im-
posed upon by false systems, said to be of Divine authority,
will be very cautious, at this day, of receiving any thing that
bears such an appearance. And therefore, through the tender-
ness and mercy of God, the truth and revelation of Christ is
opened answerable to the weak and prejudiced state of the
world, for the gain and edification of the candid seekers after
truth.
17. And, as the special call of God to all who are seeking
eternal life, is to free themselves from the pernicious superstitions
and false doctrines of antichrist, before they can receive the ever-
lasting Gospel, of Christ's kingdom, therefore it is, that so much
of the following work is taken up in exposing the works of
antichrist, during his dark and deplorable reign of tivelve hun-
dred and sixty years, in order that souls who are groaning under
bondage, may discover the cause, and be released. And truly,
when the whole depth of that antichristian delusion is exposed,
that saying will be fully verified: " And they that dioell on the
Rev. xvii earth shall tvonder, when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is."
18. This subject might have been comprised in much less
room than it now occupies, were it not that mankind have been
so long deceived and led astray by a false influence, instead of
being guided by the light of truth. A particular account of the
transactions of antichrist, during his reign, must be sought for
in the history of those who, some time after the days of Jesus
Christ, and his Apostles, took the dominion in the affairs of the
Church, and established a false religion, under the pretence of
8.
FIRST EDITION. xi
being their successors. Therefore, in order to fully expose the
dark reign of that power, which has so long triumphed in dis-
guise, under the sacred name of Jesus Christ, it appeared neces-
sary to make large extracts from some of the most noted eccle-
siastical writers, that when facts are established by the testimony
of these writers, in their own words, they may not be disputed.
19. In treating on this dark period, we have extracted some
of the most interesting facts from Mosheim's Ecclesiastical
History, Robinson's Ecclesiastical Researches, and from The
Works of Lardner. And on various occasions we have quoted
from Neivton, Robertson, Edwards, Boston, Sewdl, Wesley,
Wilberforce, and others. Most of the historical writers whom
we have quoted, are well known, and highly esteemed ; nor
have we any knowledge that their veracity was ever called in
question by the learned.*
20. The work which God purposed to do in the latter days,
was not to be according to the systems of human invention
known and understood among men; but Avas to be a strange
ivork ; and the act which he intended to briug to pass, was to
be a strange act, even "A marvelous work and a won-
der."' Neither was Christ to come in order to establish any of
those systems of man's building that should be found on earth
at his appearing ; but in the progress of his strange work he will
most certaiuly consume them all. Therefore said the Prophet,
" Be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have
heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption even deter-
mined upon the whole earth,'''' And hence the warning of the
Apostle : " Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish ; for 1
work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in nowise be-
lieve, though a man declare it unto you."
21. In the time of Christ's first appearing, the Jews, who
called themselves God's chosen people, were looking for a Sa-
viour to appear in royal splendor, surpassing all temporal
monarchs; but behold, he appeared in a man, and took on him
the form of a servant. Again, those who called themselves
Christians, expected him, in the second advent, to appear in the
form of a man, far surpassing all earthly beings in pomp, gran-
* The largest extracts are made from the three first mentioned writers, whose
works are supported from the best authorities of ancient and modern history. John
Lawrence Moshcim was a Lutheran priest, and Chancellor of the University
of Gottingen, in Germany, the seat of the Reformation. His Ecclesiastical
History was translated from the original Latin by Archibald Maclaine, DD.
The extracts are from the Philadelphia edition, printed in 1797, in six octavo
volumes. Those from Robinson's Ecclesiastical Researches, are from a Euro-
pean edition, printed at Cambridge, in 1792, a very valuable production, of one
quarto volume. The writings of Dr. Lardner are held in high estimation by
modern historians in general ; the extracts are from the London edition of his
works, printed in 1788, eleven octavo volumes.
In this [fourth] edition, large extracts are made from the Ecclesiastical His-
tories of Milncr, Jones, and others.
XII
PREFACE TO THE
dour, and warlike power, and behold, the humble Saviour was
manifested in the form and likeness of a woman, and assumed
the appearance of a handmaid.
22. Thus, as the heavens are high above the earth, so are the
thoughts and imaginations of man above all that is called God ;
and as far as virtue is below vice in the carnal sense of the
wicked, so far is the way of God below all the ways that ever
man contrived, by which all the carnal works and inventions of
man will be supplanted; and therefore, in the eyes of man,
the real work of God will ever appear strange and unaccountable.
23. Sixty years have now passed since the beginning of this
work in England; twenty-eight years since it began in America ;
twenty years since the gathering of the Church ; and sixteen
years since the Church was established in her present order and
spirit of government. And in all this time of sixty years, the
testimony has been verbal, and those who were faithful in it
increased in further light and understanding, and in power and
harmony, from time to time, without any written creed, relating
to themselves, or any written testimony in defence of their cause,
or for the public information of others.
24. Nor is this present publication to be considered as any
creed to bind or influence the faith or practice of the Church,
to prevent a further increase ; but as the first public testimony
in writing, containing a true statement of the fundamental
principles and reasons of our faith and practice, according to
the measure of our present light and understanding.
25. Whatever is written on any subject, must have respect to
some foundation or first principles ; and, as the living power of
God was first ministered, in this latter day, for the purpose of
destroying the false foundation and pernicious principles of
antichrist ; so the work itself appeared like madness and folly
to such as stood on that foundation. And in no better light
would any written account of it have appeared, nor in truth,
could any thing satisfactory be written, until this necessary
work of preparation was accomplished, and the substance of
what was to follow had come to a sufficient degree of maturity.
26. But since the subjects of the work have been broken off
from their false foundation, and built upon the foundation of the
present revelation of Christ, and are raised up in the order of a
spiritual house, to that degree of righteousness, peace, and
union, which they visibly manifest, every thing has assumed
a different apppearance ; so that time and circumstances have
rendered it proper to state those different operations and
degrees of the work in their true nature and character.
27. And, as those first operations of the power of God, in
destroying the foundation of error and vice, exhibited many out-
ward appearances which looked like confusion and wild disorder,
FIRST EDITION. xiii
owing to the mixture of human depravity and false ideas, both
in the subjects of the work, and in spectators, and gave occa-
sion to innumerable false conjectures, and groundless reports,
which may have obtained some degree of credit at a distance ;
it therefore seems necessary, at this time, to give this public
testimony of facts, that the truth of things may be estab-
lished, and every necessary satisfaction be afforded to mankind
upon the authority of those who have had a perfect under-
standing of the work, from its earliest rise, either from their
own certain knowledge, or from their most intimate acquaint-
ance and near relation to those who were eye and ear
witnesses of all the most important matters from the beginning.
28. The present publication may serve to convey general infor-
mation to the unprejudiced mind, and enlighten the understand-
ing ; yet certain it is, that the true knowledge and internal
power by which we are saved from the torrent of human deprav-
ity, cannot be conveyed by letters, so as to be comprehended by
the wisdom of man ; nor can any attain that treasure through
any other medium than that which is given of God in the order
of his grace.
29. Although we do not despise the rules of rhetoric estab-
lished among the learned, yet we have taken no pains to adapt
either our manner or style to the refined taste of the present
age. If any choose to criticise or find fault on this account,
they are at liberty, we intend neither vindication nor defence
on this ground ; nor do we suppose that any but vain cavillers
will be carried away with empty speculations of that nature, so
long as the matter is clear, and the language such as sufficiently
conveys our ideas.
30. As the unlearned cannot comprehend the learning of the
learned, unless they are taught by those who are learned; so
neither can the learned nor unlearned comprehend the work of
God, unless they are taught by those who are in it. Our princi-
pal aim has been to open matters so as to be understood, and
we believe we have succeeded sufficient to satisfy every candid
inquiring mind.
81. The statements set forth in the following works, are con-
firmed by three kinds of evidence : First, the Holy Scriptures ;
second, the general consent of ecclesiastical history ; and third,
the testimony of living witnesses, in the present day. And, as
all that took place from the beginning, had respect to the latter
day ; so it is a matter of the highest importance to know what
God has actually accomplished in the present day ; and there-
fore the testimony of living witnesses, is considered of the highest
authority, and superior to any written record whatever.
32. We are far from expecting, or even wishing, any of our
writing to supersede the necessity of a living testimony, or in
xiv PREFACE.
anywise to prevent a further increase of light and understanding
in the things of God. As far as the builder is superior to the
thing which he builds, so far the living subjects of the work of
God° stand forever superior to any thing that they can possibly
comprise in letters. The living testimony of God is not of the
letter, but of the Spirit : for the letter killeth, but the Spirit
giveth life.
33. And as it is certain that the work of the latter day, spoken
of by all the Prophets, has verily commenced ; therefore we are
fully persuaded, that the true knowledge of God will increase,
from one degree to another, until the full manifestation of his
glory. And for this purpose God will continue to raise up
chosen witnesses, to give the knowledge of salvation to those who
sit in darkness, until the whole of his work be accomplished.
Therefore, for the more clear and perfect understanding of many
things which are here but briefly stated, we respectfully refer
the candid reader to those who keep the commandments of God
and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ.
DAVID DARROW,
JOHN MEACHAM,
BENJAMIN S. YOUNGS.
Lebanon, Miami Country, Slate 7
of Ohio, 1st of Dec. 1808. 5
Note. David D arrow, now in the 59th year of his age, was
among the first in America who received the testimony of the
Gospel, in the year 1780. John Meacham (being then a youth,
under the care of his father Joseph Meacham, in union with
the family) received the testimony the same year, 1780, and is
now in the 39th year of his age. Benjamin S. Youngs
received the testimony in the year 1794, and is now in the 35th
year of his age. It is proper to remark, that the two first-named,
were eo-laborers in forming, and also leading Elders in support-
ing, the several societies of this community in the Western States,
and signed their names not as authors, but as counsellors, and as
sanctioning the work.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Preface to the Fourth Edition, iii
Preface to the First Edition, vii
Introduction, xx\
BOOK I.
The Patriarchal Dispensation. — The State of Man from his First
Creation until Christ.
Chap.
I. The Order of the Visible Creation, ----- l
II. The State of Man in his Primitive Creation, - 5
III. The Nature and Effects of the Fall of Man from his first
Rectitude, 10
IV. The Mystery of Iniquity ; or the Man of Sin Revealed : His
Rise in the Fall of Man, by the Subversion of the original
Order and Law of God ------ \g
V. Further Illustrations of the Mystery of Iniquity, - - 23
VI. The Mystery of Iniquity further Revealed, - 27
VII. The Deceptive Operations of the Man of Sin, 32
VIII. The Principal Seat of Human Depravity, ... 37
IX. The Cause of the Destruction of the Old World, - - 42
X. The Call of God to Abraham : What it signified, - - 47
BOOK II.
I. The Figurative Import of the Mosaic Dispensation, - - 53
II. The Mosaic Law : Wherein it was fulfilled by the Law of
Grace, through Jesus Christ, - - - - - 58
III. The State of all Mankind before the First Appearing of
Christ, by which Salvation is revealed, 63
BOOK III.
The Dispensation of the First Appearing of Christ. — The Beginning
and Work of a New Creation.
I. Jesus Christ preceded and introduced by John the Baptist, 73
II. The Ministry of Jesus Christ, the Anointed, - 78
III. The Institution of the Primitive Church, - - - 83
IV. The Cross maintained by the Primitive Church, 89
XVI CONTENTS.
Chap. Page.
V. Permissions and Instructions to those who choose a Married
Life, - 95
VI. The Attainments of the Primitive Church, ... 102
VII. The Order and Power of the Primitive Church, - - 108
VIII. The Rise and Dominion of Antichrist predicted, - - 115
BOOK IV.
The Rise and Progress of Antichrist's Kingdom.
I. The Work of Antichrist, by False Teachers, - - -119
II. The Work of Antichrist, by Egyptian Philosophers, in the
Second Century, ------- 126
III. The Difference of Faith and Practice between the Orthodox
and the Heretics, in the Second Century, - - - 131
IV. The First Distinction between Catholics and Heretics in the
Second Century, ------- 133
V. Charges brought against the Christians, called Heretics, in
the Second and Third Centuries, - - - - 138
VI. Particular Distinction between the Characters of Catholics
and Heretics in the Second and Third Centuries, - 144
VII. The Church of Antichrist, established by Roman Emperors,
in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries, ... - 148
VIII. The true Character of Constantine and his Successors, - 154
IX. General Character of the Catholic Church, in the Second,
Third, and Fourth Centuries, ----- 160
X. The Persecuting Spirit of the Catholic Church, in the Third
and Fourth Centuries, ------ 168
XI. Progress and Doctrines of the Catholic Church, in the
Fourth Century, 172
XII. The Doctrines and Order of the Catholic Church, Estab-
lished in the Fifth Century, 178
BOOK V.
The Reign and Dominion of Antichrist.
I. The Beginning of the Reign of Antichrist, in the Fifth Century, 187
II. The Catholic Gospel propagated under the Reign of Anti-
christ, from the Fifth to the Eighth Century, - - 192
III. Violent Means of spreading the Catholic Gospel, by Char-
lemagne and his Successors, in the Ninth and Tenth
Centuries, --------- 197
IV. Continuation of the Means of Propagating the Catholic
Gospel, in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. - - 200
V. The Crusades, or Holy Wars, 205
VI. The Abominations and Persecutions of the Mother of
Harlots, 210
CONTENTS. XV11
Chap. Page.
VII. The Bloody Cruelties of the Beastly Power of Antichrist, 215
VIII. The Increasing Cruelties and Persecuting Wars of the Anti-
christian Beast, -------- 219
IX. The Proximate Causes of the Reformation, - - - 227
BOOK VI.
The Grand, Division in the Kingdom of Antichrist, called the
Reformation.
I. The TJause and First Means of Reforming the Catholic
Church, - - - 233
II. The Final Division between Papists and Protestants, - 241
III. Fruits and Effects of the Protestant Gospel, - - - 247
IV. Reformed Churches established by the Works of Antichrist, 253
V. Vehement Controversies between the First Reformers, - 259
VI. Particular Changes effected by the Reformation, - - 265
VII. The Cross of Christ rejected by the Protestant Reformers, 270
VIII. Protestant Doctrines concerning Marriage and Continence, 275
IX. Protestant Changes, concerning Discipline, Rites, and Titles, 283
X. The Persecuting Spirit of the Protestant Reformers, - 291
XI. The Persecuting Spirit of John Calvin and his Followers, and
other Reformers, ------- 299
XII. The Persecution of the Quakers, in England and America, in
the Seventeenth Century, ----- 308
BOOK VII.
The Extent and Duration of what is called the Christian World.
I. Worldly Christians contrasted with Virtuous Believers in
Christ, 317
II. Virtuous Believers, in every Age of the Christian Era, com-
pared with Worldly Christian Professors, - - - 322
III. Remarks on the Present State of the Christian World, - 328
IV. Protestantism, the System of the Second Beast, "which came
up out of the Earth," 336
V. Remarks on the Past and Present State of the Witnesses of
Truth, 341
VII. Remarks concerning Quakers, French Prophets, and other
Modern Sects, 351
BOOK VIII.
The Dispensation of the Second Appearing of Christ: The Finishing
Work of the New Creation.
I. Remarks on the Spirit of Prophecy, respecting the Time of
Christ's Second Appearing, 359
2*
xviii CONTENTS.
Chap. Page
II. The Place of Christ's Kingdom, and Manner of his Work, 365
III. The Manner of Christ's Second Appearing, ... 370
IV. The True Character of the Church of Christ, - - - 375
V. The Foundation Pillars of the Church of Christ, - - 379
VI. The Parentage of the Church of Christ, - - - 385
VII. Types and Prophecies fulfilled in the Two Foundation Pillars, 390
VIII. Prophecies and Promises fulfilled in the Parentage of the New
Creation, 399
IX. Visions and Revelations relating to the Mother of the New
Creation, *• 408
X. Evidences accompanying the Second Appearing of Christ, 414
XI. Remarks on the Evidence of Christ's Second Appearing, - 426
XII. Progress of the Church in Gospel Order, ... 433
XIII. The Church established in Gospel Order, - 441
XIV. Prophecies and Promises fulfilling in the present increasing
Work of Christ's Kingdom, - 450
XV. A Short Calculation of the Principal Prophecies relating to
the Latter Day, ----... 459
BOOK IX.— Part I.
The Order of Deity, and the Corresponding Order of Christ,
Revealed.
I. The Revelation of the Eternal and Divine Spirit, - - 467
II. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Beginning of the New
Creation of God, ---..._ 475
III. An Illustration of the Production of Preternatural Births ;
that is, Births by Direction of Supernatural Agency; or
those in the chosen Line of Promise. — Section 1. - 480
Section 2. — The Subject further Illustrated, - - - 487
IV. The Coming of Christ, a Spiritual Work, ... 495
Part II.
A Compendious View of the Order in Deity as revealed in the
Second Appearing of Christ.
I. The Order of Deity, Male and Female, in whose Image Man
was created, ------.. 503
II. Christ Manifested in the Order of Male and Female, - 512
III. Revelations concerning the Appearing of Christ in the Line
of the Female, -----.. 521
IV. Inconsistency of the Doctrine of the Trinity with all the
Manifestations of God, ----.. 528
V. Summary Remarks on the Order in Deity and consequent
Manner of Man's Redemption in Christ, - - - 533
CONTENTS. XIX
BOOK X.
Practical Principles of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing.
Chap. Page.
I. The Order of God in the Confession and Forgiveness of Sins, 539
II. The Sufferings of Jesus Christ, in the Work of Regeneration, 548
III. The New and Spiritual Birth, 555
IV. The Resurrection, not of the Body, but of the Soul ; not
Carnal, but Spiritual, ------- 562
V. The inconsistency of a Carnal Resurrection, - - - 567
VI. Rational and Scriptural Evidences of the Gospel being
Preached, and a Probationary State in the World of
Spirits. — Section 1. 572
Section 2. — The Subject further illustrated, - - - 578
VII. The Worship of God, 584
VIII. The Holy Scriptures, 588
IX. The Gospel Testimony; or, The "Sharp Sickle," - - 596
X. The Conclusion, addressed to Young Believers, - - 607
Appendix. — Brief History of the Rise and Progress of the
United Society, -------- 615
Location of the different Societies.
INTRODUCTION.
Whatever degree of natural wisdom may be attained by those
who are without Christ and without God in the world, certain it
is, that the only true saving knowledge of God that ever was,
or ever will be, communicated to man, is by and through the
revelation of Jesus Christ ; and therefore, such as reject Christ,
and take their own wisdom for their guide, never were, and
never can be, saved in that state.
2. And in no better situation are those who profess faith in
an absent Saviour, — who believe that Christ was once upon earth,
but is now departed to some remote and unknown heaven, where
it is impossible for the weak capacities of mortals to reach him ;
when, in truth, nothing but the real and abiding presence of
Christ, by the indwelling of his Spirit, ever did, or ever can save
one soul.
3. And, as Christ is the only real Saviour — the only true
light of the world, to lead souls into the knowledge and enjoy-
ment of God ; and as there is no other name or substance under
heaven given among men, whereby any can be saved ; it follows,
beyond all contradiction, that, until Christ made his appearance
in the world, the world was in darkness, without the saving
knowledge of God, without a Saviour, and consequently without
salvation.
II. 1. Man was at first created in a true natural state and
pronounced good, for he was under the law and government of
God, according to that state. But having violated that law, he
never could again be brought into his true order and line of sub-
jection, until God sent forth his own Son into the world for the SeeiCor.
purpose of raising him, not only from his fall, but into a spiritual 47." ' '
state and order, far superior to the natural.
2. It is true, a law was given to one particular nation, by
which great restrictions were laid upon that lawless disposition
which governs man in his fallen state ; but it availed nothing as
to the redemption of the soul from the influence of that disposition ;
nor could it bring any into that perfect obedience with which God
was well pleased ; for the Law having a shadow of good things
to come, and not the very image., could never make the comers Heb. x. i.
thereunto perfect.
3. But, when Christ Jesus made his appearance, as a wise
Legislator, his first work was to form a law by which man should
xxii INTRODUCTION.
be ruled and governed ; and this he did, by his exemplary life
and doctrine. And, having passed through the world, and lived
such a life as was in all points acceptable to Grod, he received
that power and authority, as the Head and Ruler of the human
race, by which he could righteously demand their subjection,
convince them of the evil nature of sin, and justly dispense
rewards and punishments, according to their obedience or diso-
bedience.
III. 1. The law and government which Christ established in
his first appearing, did not so immediately and extensively
respect this present world, as it did the world of spirits. Yet,
before he could extend his kingdom to, and establish his power
and authority in, the spiritual world, it was necessary that he
should first pass through the present outward world, and experi-
ence a feeling of all the trials that ever had been experienced by
those over whom he was appointed Ruler, that he might open
Heb. ii. ii, the way for them to enjoy with Him, an inheritance in the
ia heavenly kingdom, of which he was the first-born. Hence he
said to his disciples, I go to prepare a place for you; which
implied that his law, and the order of his government, were not
yet established in the world of spirits.
2. It was also necessary that Christ should open, in the
present world, such a measure of the nature and order of his
government, and the rudimental laws of his kingdom, as should
subserve his future purpose, when mankind in the earthly stage
of existence in his second appearing, should become the more
immediate objects of his labor. Hence his parable of a man
See Luke, going into a far country to receive a kingdom, and to return ;
and giving to each of his servants a certain sum, according to
their several abilities, saying, Occupy till I come.
IV. 1. During the time of this preparatory work of Jesus
Christ, in establishing his law and order in the spiritual world, this
earth was a seat of the most perfect confusion, injustice, decep-
tion and cruelty ; which was properly the period of antichrist's
reign and dominion. And, indeed, that corrupt hierarchy called
the Church, which pretended to have the power of salvation,
and assumed all the authority of Christ on earth, was, in reality,
Rev. xvin. 4(^e habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and
a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.'1'' And such extrava-
gant superstitions prevailed, during this period, (as through the
invisible operations of God's Providence,) have become objects of
just contempt to the enlightened part of mankind.
2. We have endeavored to state with satisfactory clearness,
the origin and progress of that system of iniquity, under the
reign of antichrist, which, after the decline and final apostasy of
the primitive Church, became predominant, and, under the false
profession of Christianity perverted all Christendom ; and, for
INTRODUCTION. XX111
many "dark ages," filled the world 'with bitter animosities,
strifes, confusion, tyranny and blood.
V. 1. Our aim has been, to show that, during that whole deplor-
able reign of apostasy and false dominion, there neither was, nor
could possibly exist, the true Church of Christ upon earth. No
personal opposition to any particular sect or denomination, is in
the least intended.
2. During the "dark ages," among the Catholics, and after-
wards among the various divisions of Protestants, there have
been many noble and sincere souls, who have groaned under the
oppression of the prevailing iniquities of their times, and who
have labored, according to their best light and power, to uphold
virtue, and to work " righteousness in the earth ; " and such will
in nowise lose their reward from the righteous '■'■Judge of ally
VI. 1. As Christ did actually go to prepare a place, and to
receive a kingdom, and promised to return, and establish his law
of righteousness and order on this earth ; so his promise is
actually fulfilling ; and the most striking evidence in this latter
day, that he has gained the kingdom, and begun to set it up on
earth, is the manifest change in civil government, and that
spirit of toleration and liberty in matters of religion, which
began to take place about the close of the seventeenth century.
2. This work of toleration and liberty was directed in the order
of Divine Providence, and gradually increased, until liberty of
conscience, and the rights of man, were permanently established,
by the liberal, national and state constitutions of these United
States of America.
3. Thus, by the immediate Providence of God, the way was
prepared for the everlasting Gospel to be preached, which has
been received by many; and "the kingdom of the saints of the
Most High; " so long predicted, has been gradually rising, until
it is permanently established in this favored land.
4. Therefore, for the sake of candid inquirers after truth, and
especially those who are looking for that work of full salvation
which Cod promised to accomplish in the latter days, and who
have not the opportunity of obtaining personal information, we
shall consider the various operations of the work of God, in its
progressive stages, or degrees, both providential and spiritual,
from the first creation of man in relation to this important event :
and " let him that readeth understand."
5. By an attentive review of the Scriptures, as well as the
general history of the world, it is evident, that the whole mani-
festation of the work of God, from " the beginning," has been dis-
played in Four general Dispensations of Divine Providence and
Grace, successively brought forth in various eras and orders, each
progressively rising into higher and higher degrees of greater
and increasing perfection.
Xxiv INTRODUCTION.
6. All these Dispensations and degrees of development and
growth of order, as planned in Divine wisdom, are now ulti-
mately perfecting in the present Dispensation of Christ's Second
Appearing, which is the Fourth and last; and in which the waters
of life and salvation will become an impassable river, as shown to
the Prophet in his vision of the holy loafers: these, after four
Bee Ezek successive measures, each rising higher and higher upon man,
ilvii. 1-13. became "a river that could not be passed over."
7. Thus will it be in the work of this Dispensation: all souls
will have to swim in the waters of spiritual life, clear of all attrac-
tions from the corrupt earthly nature, or be borne down by them
Seel John, and sink to destruction with the world. But, if they swim
ii. 15, 17. clear of the attractions of the world, by stripping off all its
corrupt weights and the defiled clothing of nature, the holy
waters will waft them to the heavenly land op eternal
life. For in the manifestations of this " great and last day of
u."' God Almighty," the work of God will be consummated to the
human race; as it is written, "In the days of the voice of the
seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God
will be finished." Each of the aforesaid " days " doubtless signi-
fies a new era of increase in the manifestations of God's work,
before the present Dispensation is completed.
8. Therefore this Dispensation is ushered in and brought forth,
by the voices and conjunctive powers of the seventh trumpet.
This is the final work, and brings "the time of the end," fore-
told to the Prophet Daniel, which will decide the destiny of all
X1X7-13, & things, and the ultimate lot of all souls and spirits. For these
aifoVude!' reasons> the present volume is illustrated according to the re-
v. 6. spective orders of the aforesaid pour great dispensations.
See Rev.
xvi
Rev. x. 7.
See Dan.
THE TESTIMONY
OF
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
BOOK I.
THE PATRIARCHAL DISPENSATION.
THE STATE OP MAN FROM HIS FIRST CREATION UNTIL CHRIST.
CHAPTER I.
THE ORDER OF THE VISIBLE CREATION.
In all the works of God throughout the order of the visible chap. i.
creation, there is an evident relation of one thing to another, as
the effect is related to its cause; and we may every where
see one thing springing out of another, and progressing on
to still higher degrees of perfection.
2. This is manifest, not only in the works of nature, but of
art ; and upon this principle, the new is granted to be superior
to the old, inasmuch as it contains all the useful properties of the
old with additional increase.
3. It is not, however, our design to reason on the works of
nature or of art, any further than as they serve to illustrate the
things of eternal duration. It belongs more properly to men of
natural wisdom, to search out the properties and progress of that
creation, of which they are a part.
4. But, as God promised to create new heavens, and a new
earth, wherein should dwell righteousyiess, and as the new
creation stands in a certain sense related to the old, beimr formed
out of it; therefore, the children of God are not immediately
1
2 THE ORDER OF THE VISIBLE CREATION. B. I.
chap. J- created in that character, but have first a certain relation to the
children of men, until by the spirit and power of Christ, in the
fulfilment of the promise pertaining to the new creation, they
arise out of the old, in a gradual increase, to higher degrees of
perfection.
5. Man, in his natural creation, was designed for a higher
purpose than merely to fill up the momentary scenes of the
present life. An evidence of this truth is implanted in the
breast of every individual possessed of common rationality.
6. The immortality of the soul, and a future state of existence,
is a sentiment that requires no other argument for its establish-
ment than the hopes and prospects of every rational mind.
7. Hence it is, that natural death, or the departing out of the
active scenes of this world, is, of all objects the most frightful,
inasmuch as it appears to. put an end to man's existence, and is
the strongest argument against the immortality of his present
state of beino-.
8. On the other hand, Nothing is so productive of joy and
triumph, as those sensible manifestations from a world of spirits,
which at times operate in the mind of man, and promise a durable
felicity in a future state of existence.
9. Had man even continued in the order in which he was at
first created, he could never have been established in any precise
measure of that order, because the very order itself was change-
able, and he must of necessity advance to some higher order, or
sink into an inferior state ; much less could his natural creation
be supposed to stand in the highest degree of perfection when he
had fallen from God into a state of sin and misery.
10. Eternal life was but an object of hope to man in his highest
state of innocence ; for if he had possessed eternal life, he must
have been eternally out of the reach of death : but his being
subject to fall into a state of death, was an evidence that he was
only as yet, in a state of probation, and of course, that the whole
creation of man was unfinished, and had not yet progressed to
the ultimate end for which it was created.
11. When God promised to create another heaven and earth
X7*' xv- at some future period, saying, '■'■Behold, I create new heavens,
and a new earth;" and when the Apostle said, " We according
2 Pet. Hi. to his 'promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, ivherein
dwelleth righteousness ;" it is evident that this new heaven and
earth spoken of in different ages, was something yet to be created,
therefore none could possibly reach it, but through those revolu-
tions which should lead to that period.
12. It is certain that the matter which composed the body of
man, existed before the human body was formed; and that
matter was incapable of comprehending its intermediate state,
before it was organized into human form.
13.
B. I. THE ORDER OF THE VISIBLE CREATION. 3
13. No better able is the most penetrating mortal to conceive CHAP- r
the real nature of the intermediate state of man between the old
and new creations, any further than he is created anew accord- John iii. 3,
ing to the work and progress of the new creation. And what lies
beyond, belongs to God to make manifest through Christ, by the
Gospel, in the order of the times appointed.
14. Nothing can be created without a creator, and He that
formed all things is God : He is before all tilings, and by Him Col j 17
all things consist; but every thing in its own order has a 1S-
secondary cause.
15. God always works by means that are adapted to the end.
He did not form man by or out of nothing, but out of the dust ;
nor are the human species created or propogated by or out of
any other than the living substance of man.
16. Therefore, before a thing can be created, the means of its
creation must exist. And as Jesus Christ was promised to be
the immediate Creator, or secondary cause of the new heavens Rev. iii. 14.
and earth, or the beginning of the new creation; so the future col, iii. 15
destiny of the human race was suspended on the coming of 16-
Christ.
17. The coming of Christ was not to destroy the order of the
visible heavens and earth, that were created very good at the
beginning ; but to create out of them a new world, or order of
things, that should be of eternal duration, beyond the present.
18. And therefore He came into this world, and passed „. ...
through it, and did the work his Father gave him to do, intro-
ductory to his future coming ; and having laid the foundation of
that order of eternal duration, his messase bv his servants, in x ,
. IjUke xiv.
his second appearing, is, " Come; for all things are now ready." 17.
It never was intended by the Creator that any part of his
creation should be redeemed or governed by a power foreign
from his spirit ; for that would have laid a foundation for
confusion, and showed a lack of wisdom in the whole order
of things; which may be observed from things that are
natural.
19. But God, in his wisdom, proportioned to every part of
creation its own internal government, without dependence on
foreign aid, or the fear of foreign invasion, so long as it kept the
primitive rectitude of its creation.
20. And therefore, when Jesus came into the world, in whom
Christ was revealed, as the Redeemer and Ruler of his dominion,
he did not come descending through the air froni some remote
part of space ; but, being born into the old creation, he was com-
missioned and sent from God, while dwelling in the midst of those
whom he came to redeem, and over whom he was appointed Ruler.
21. And thus was fulfilled the words of the prophet: " Out of Micahv.
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel.'''' '
4 THE ORDER OF THE VISIBLE CREATION. B. I.
chap. I Plainly showing, that, in the order of things, the power of
redemption would arise out of that creation which needed a
Redeemer.
22. Seeing, then, that the whole of (rod's work is connected
like the links of a chain, and that one thing rises out of another
by the operations of His spirit, in an increasing line, from begin-
ning to end ; it will be proper to treat of things in their true and
natural order as they arise, from age to age ; from which the
appearing of Christ, first and last, may be understood in its true
nature and design.
B. I. THE STATE OF MAN IN HIS PRIMITIVE CREATION.
CHAPTER II.
THE STATE OP MAN IN HIS PRIMITIVE CREATION.
All things were made and created for the honor and glory of chap, h.
the invisible First Cause, whom we call God — the Father of
angels and men ; a Being of infinite perfections ; eternal and un-
changeable in his nature and purpose ; from everlasting to ever-
lasting ; possessing almighty power and wisdom ; the centre of
infinite goodness; the true Spring of eternal life, and the only
Source of true happiness.
2. In the beginning, God set in order the creation of the
visible heavens and earth ; and ' ' made every plant of the Gen< a 4
field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field 5.
before it grew ; for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon
the earth."
3. By which it may be understood, that God reserved the
times and seasons in his own power ; for, although it was said,
" Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and chap. i. h.
the fruit tree yielding fruit after his hind, whose seed is in
itself, upon the earth: and it was so;" yet it was not
instantly so. The earth could not bring forth grass, nor the
herb yield seed, nor the fruit tree yield fruit, any otherwise than
according to the laws of creation established in each particular
thing, whose seed was in itself after its own kind ; and accord-
ing to the order of times and seasons appointed by the Creator,
in the law of nature.
4. This was the law and order established in the vegetable
creation ; and every thing was beautiful after its kind, and in its
times and seasons. "And. God saw that it, teas good."
5. Therefore no inferior law could be given to any superior
part of the creation; but each part of the creation must be
regulated by a law equal to its own inferior or superior dignity,
that the whole might operate in one harmonious concert with the
first moving cause.
6. "And God created every living creature which the waters Gen. i. 21,
brought forth abundantly, after their kind; and every winged
fowl after his kind; and God blessed them, saying, " Be fruit-
ful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl
multiply in the earth."
7. " Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind : Gen. i. 24.
cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his
6 THE STATE OF MAN IN HIS PRIMITIVE CREATION. B. I.
chap. ii. kind; and it was so." "And out of the ground, the Lord
God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air."
Gen. ii. 19. 8. Thus God made the animal part of the creation, which was
superior to the vegetable, from the great whales in the sea, to
the least insect of the earth, and the smallest bird of the air;
and He created every particular part, with a natural law, or
instinct, to be fruitful and multiply, each after its own order,
and after its own kind, and in the times and seasons appointed
by the Creator, and established in the law of nature.
9. And thus the animal creation was set in order ; and each
part after its own kind, and in its own place, showed forth the
Gen i 25 glory and power of the Creator. " And God saw that it was goody
ii. 7." 10. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living soul.'''' That is, he became endowed with
spiritual sensations and the faculties of reason. Thus man was
created the head and most noble part of all the visible creation.
11. Also the animal parts of the creation, which were formed
out of the groxind, were endowed with animal faculties, or bodily
sensations, such as seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and
Jeeling, which made them noble in their order.
12. And although man was formed of the ground (or natural
elements), yet as he was made the most noble animal of the creation,
distinct from his living soul, he could not be deficient of such
animal sensations as pertained to any of the inferior part of the
creation.
13. Therefore, by his living soul, he was likewise endowed
with those natural, or bodily sensations of seeing, hearing,
tasting, smelling and feeling, which are called the five senses.
And thus his living soul gave him the pre-eminence over the
animal part of the creation, and constituted him a human and
rational creature, more noble than the rest.
14. Again, the living soul of man, being superior to his
animal body, could not therefore be deficient in any one part or
sense which pertained to the body ; consequently, in the union
of soul and body, every part or sensation of the body must be
occupied by a corresponding part, or sensation of the soul.
15. And hence, there was also a spiritual seeing, hearing,
feeling, and so on, which being superior to all those natural
sensations, were capable of dictating and ordering every faculty
and sensation of his natural body aright.
16. And thus man was created with a most noble capacity,
to know how to please and serve his Creator, and how to order
and govern every part of his natural capacity and bodily sensa-
tions for the honor and glory of the great first cause.
17. And, as this noble and superior capacity of the living
soul, had the pre-eminence over all the inferior senses of his own
B. I. THE STATE OF MAN IN HIS PRIMITIVE CREATION. 7
natural frame ; therefore MAN was capable of having the sole chap, it.
dominion over all the inferior creation, and of preserving its
order and harmony, for his own happiness, as well as for the
honor and glory of the Creator.
18. But, as man was formed of the ground, like the rest of
the animal parts of the creation, so, like those, his natural body
was of the earth, earthy, and was created for time. And,
because God breathed into him the breath of life, and man
became a living soul, therefore his living soul was the image
and likeness of Him who is eternal, and was created for
eternity.
19. "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him," * i. e. *Heb- an
according to the order before him. For among all other living fore Mm.'
creatures that had vet been formed, for Adam there was not found ue,e,Mar'
an help, according to that order of which he was the image and Gen. ii. is.
likeness.
20. And out of the man, the Lord God made him an helper,
who was called woman, because she was taken out of ma7i.
Thus man was formed of two parts, male and female. These
two, as to their local situation, were different ; but, in point of
nature and union, they were one, and formed but the one entire
man, complete in his manhood.
21. Therefore, as the woman was formed out of the man, who
was the most noble and superior part of all the creation, by
reason of his living soul; so the woman also was endowed with
those same rational faculties and governing powers, as a suitable
help in the dominion and government of all the inferior
creation.
22. But, as the man was first formed, and afterwards the
woman, to be a helper with the man, therefore she was depend-
ent on him for counsel and instruction, and was not first, but
second in the headship of man, and second in the order and
government of all the inferior creation. Thus the order in the
first creation of man was finished.
23. " And God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, Gen *• 2S-
and multiply and rcple?iish the earth, and subdue it ; and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the foxvl of the air,
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earthy
24. Also, '■'■God, made man upright, in his own image ^ccl,vii-
created he him;'''' and therefore he was without blemish, as he
proceeded from the Fountain of all wisdom and perfection : made Gen" h ~7m
but a little lower than the angels: having dominion over the Psai.viii.5,
ft
terrestrial creatures, and was crowned with glory and honor. rieb. ii. 7.
25. Thus man, in his first rectitude, stood as sole lord of the
earth, and the most noble part of all the visible creation. And,
being endowed with a capacity to receive the law of God in his
8 THE STATE OF MAN IN HIS PRIMITIVE CREATION. B. I.
CHAPTr- living soul, for the right ordering of all things under his dominion,
he was properly the centre of order and union to all, and, (com-
paratively) stood as a living and most noble tree in the midst of
the trees of the garden.
26. And while this was his standing, being the head and
centre of union to the creation, every particular part, having a
law peculiar to itself, served to increase the glory and beauty of
each other, and operate, and move in one general and harmonious
concert, to show forth the glory and power of the great and first
Gen. i. 31. moving Cause. "And God saw every thing that he had made,
and behold it was very good.'1'1
27. But the living soul of man was united to a material and
natural body, which was of the earth, earthy, and which was pos-
sessive of its own animal and earthly instinct ; and this consti-
tuted his state of trial, and placed him as it were between two
worlds — between life and death.
28. And therefore it is said, that the Lord God put him into
the garden, "to dress it, and to keep it," and commanded him,
Gei 16 sa^inS' "^/ everV tree °f ^ie garden thou may est freely eat;
x 7*;"" but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not
eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die."
29. From which it appears evident, that man was created with
an inferior nature adapted to his earthly state which was good in
its order, but was to be kept in subjection by a superior law, in
order to his becoming a just and rightful heir to any inheritance
of promise, and more especially that of eternal life, which was
the ultimate end of his creation.
30. It would have been contrary to the order that was estab-
lished in the creation, for the Lord Clod immediately to exercise
his governing power over any object which he had placed under
the dominion of man. On man therefore it depended, rightly to
use the power with which he was invested by the Father of his
living soul, with whom he stood united.
31. Consider, then, the state and order in which the man was
placed. His living soul, endowed with the power of reason,
stood in connexion with the Father of Spirits, and was superior
to the instincts of his earthly nature, or the animal sensations
and natural desires which might arise therefrom ; and therefore
he could not be influenced and governed by them without the
most pointed breach of the law and order of God, and the for-
feiture of his dominion.
32. He could not be influenced and governed by the female,
although "bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh,'"' without the
violation of the same law and order ; because he was the first,
and she the second in the order of the creation.
33. Neither could the male or the female, together or
B. I. THE STATE OF MAN IN HIS PRIMITIVE CREATION. 9
separately, be influenced and governed by any inferior part of the chap. ii.
creation, whether beast, or fowl, or creeping thing, without the
subversion of the order and harmony of the creation, as well as
the most direct and presumptuous transgression of the law of
God.
34. For, God by his righteous law, had endowed them with
wisdom and power, to subdue and have the immediate dominion
over all the inferior creation ; therefore it was not the law of
nature in any part of the inferior creation, but the law of God
in the living soul, by which the conduct of both male and
female was to be directed, and all their actions disposed. This
law was constituted as the ruling power of man, and because it
was given of God, the source of their existence, it laid them
under the strictest obligations to the most punctual obedience.
35. And, while man stood in his rectitude, and the line
of order which God had placed in the creation remained entire,
every part was in a condition to be regulated by a principle of
justice and equity, to produce the fruits of harmony and peace ;
and through obedience to answer, without obstruction, the
ultimate end of its creation.
36. For " God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it
was very good.'" No evil could flow from a good cause, nor could
evil ensue while that cause was regarded. "And they were both Gen. ii. 25.
naked, the man and his wife, and loere not ashamed.'1'' Such
was their peace and innocence.
37. It was but the beginning of man's work of self-denial, to
abstain from one particular tree. In the progress of his govern-
ment, he was to subdue the earth, and have dominion over ALL,
and prove that his living soul had not its equal among all the
beauties of nature, nor in all the temporal glory of the universe.
38. But "man who being in honor, and abode not, is like Psai.xiix.
the beasts that perish.'''1 2'
2
10 THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF B. I.
CHAPTER III.
THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF THE FALL OF MAN, FROM HIS
FIRST RECTITUDE.
chap. in. By the fall of man, is not meant any change in the position of
his body, but of his soul. His body retained its natural relation
to the earth, was possessed of its usual gravity, subject to the
laws of attraction, cohesion, and repulsion, and endowed with all
its former natural instincts, sensations, and faculties.
2. But his soul fell from GJ-od by disobedience. By yielding
to the influence of an inferior attraction, he was deceived, and
drawn out of that proper order in which he was placed by the
Fountain of truth.
3. And, being drawn out of his proper order, he loosed the
bond of his union and relation to heaven; and being loosed, he
fell into that which attracted him; and in that he is a fallen
spirit ; but still proves his supernatural descent, by a life and
power which the most perfect law of nature never was given him
to inspire.
4. According to the law which G-od prescribed to man at the
beginning, he was to subdue, and have dominion over all inferior
things ; this was his distinguished standing in his first rectitude ;
of course, to be subdued and overcome must be his fall.
5. The living soul of man was united to a natural body, and
occupied all its natural faculties and senses, which were as a
medium of conveyance, through which the law of God that was
implanted in his soul, might be put into action, according to the
directions of the Lawgiver.
6. And hence, no object inferior to the perfect will of God,
could find any access to his living soul, so as to bring it into
captivity and rival God's claim to man's affections, except
through the medium of those animal passions and appetites
arising from his inferior nature, and which were appointed to be
under the government of a superior law.
7. And therefore, any object on which his obedience could
first be proved, must be that which addressed those natural and
earthly appetites, or the propensities of his inferior nature; and
these could not operate without the previous consent of his soul
to cast off his Superior, even God, who claimed the first and
principal right to all his affections.
8. Here was the state of his trial ; and it now remained with
him, whether he would obey his superior or inferior; and his
servant he must be, to whom he yielded obedience.
B. I. man's fall from his first rectitude. 11
9. Therefore, in obeying his inferior, he became servant to chap, hi.
that over which he was appointed ruler, and committed sin and
transgression in breaking the law and order of God, by going
over the bounds prescribed by the Lawgiver.
10. It is evident that the law and order of God, appointed
for man, was good, not only from the thing considered in itself,
but from the consideration that God is good, and that no evil
effect can flow from a good cause.
11. But, as man was created in a probationary state, in order
to subserve a higher purpose, it rendered the creation of man in
its nature susceptible of either good or evil: the good to ensue
as the effects of obedience to those laws which God gave for its
regidation, or the evil would ensue in consequence of neglect
and disobedience.
12. Therefore, as man was not obedient to the law of God,
his superior, but yielded to be influenced, through an inferior
nature, by that serpent called the devil, who in his nature is
directly opposite to all good, hence ensued the evil. And the
devil could have no influence in the creation, otherwise than by
a subversion of that true order which God had placed between
soul and body, male and female, man and beast.
13. And as the man was the head, and first principal agent in
the order and dominion of the creation, and the woman was the
second and weaker part of man in the same agency ; hence, that
deceiver the serpent, came forth with a lie, and tempted the
woman to counteract the law and order of heaven ; that is, to be
led by the influence of the serpent, her inferior instead of being
led by the counsel of her superior, the man.
14. " Notv the serpent icas more subtle than any beast of the Gen. hi. l.
field,'''' (a striking emblem of man's nature!) and therefore the
most suitable to allure and deceive. "And he said unto the
woman, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden? "
15. And the woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the
fruit of the trees of the garden ; but of the fruit of the tree which
is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
it, nor touch it, lest ye die.'''' Thus far she exercised the rational
faculties of her soul, and while she stood stedfast here, no evil
could ensue.
16. But " the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
die: For God doth hnow, that in the day ye eat thereof, then J?en- jii- 4>
your eyes shall be opened ; and yc shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.'"
17. Here the woman was allured, and being allured, she was
deceived, and being deceived, she was excited by a passion, which
prevailed over her reason, to listen to the voice of the serpent.
18. Thus the serpent beguiled her; and being beguiled, she
12 THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF B. I.
CHAP.ni. distrusted the order of God, which was placed in the man, as it
respected her immediate safety and protection ; a contrary view
of the order of things began to take root in her animal nature,
and to promise something more delightful than what she appre-
hended from the order and counsel of God.
19. Here the nature and disposition of the woman, which
before was innocent, and lovely, became transformed into a
nature and disposition which is unclean, wicked, and deceitful.
20. The nature and quality of that disposition with which
God created man at the beginning, being pure, innocent, and
lovely, is figuratively compared to a natural tree of pleasant fruit,
"« tree to be desired to make one wise."
21. And had man regarded the law of God, and punctually
obeyed the directions of the Lawgiver, the fruit would have been
good, pure, innocent and lovely. The fruit of the tree was good
only in its right use, and evil only in its wrong use.
22. But, to the perpetual torment and condemnation of men,
and a heavy woe to women, they delight to choose the knowledge
of the evil ! Therefore the tree was called, The tree of the know-
ledge of good and evil*
23. Thus it was an undue, unseasonable, and inordinate desire
of the knowledge of that nature, infused through the subtilty of
the serpent, by which the woman was allured and led away out
of her proper order, instead of being led by the righteous law of
God, in her living soul, which required her to act in union with
the protecting counsel vested in the man, who was her proper head.
l c»r. xi.a 24. " But lioould have you know, that the head of every man is
Christ ; and the head of the ivornan is the man; and the head
of Christ is God." What was Christ? The unity of divine male
Rev. xxii. and female ; and man was created in the same unity in the like-
ness of God. This was that line of order, which the God of all
wisdom and goodness placed in the most noble part of the visible
creation. In this unity they were a complete head of the
natural world.
25. And therefore the woman's obedience to the serpent, was.
not only contrary to the dictates of her reason, and inconsistent
* Many opinions have been entertained respecting the primitive garden of Eden
and the transactions in it. But to us it is evident, from Scripture, and from reason-
able views of the nature of things, that there was a delightful temporal garden,
in which the first man was placed, and, in which grew all kinds of trees and
plants, every way adapted to the subsistence and earthly happiness of man; i. e.
it was the world in miniature. Hence it appears plain, that all the transactions
that are related to have taken place in this garden, were first effected in the out-
ward and temporal order ; yet, these were only figurative, like the figure of the
Law. Bui the substance, and ultimate operations and effects of all these things,
were in the earthly human nature of man; this was the real garden in which the
rational soul was placed, " to dress " (i. e. to cultivate) " and to keep it ; " which
was the first duty appointed by the Creator. See Gen. ii. 15. Thus it was his
duty to keep it from an enemy, against which he was in this manner plainly-
warned.
2,1
B. I. man's fall from his first rectitude. 13
in the nature of things, but directly contrary to the true order of chap.iti.
God. And, having now eaten of the forbidden fruit, that is,
having received the nature of the serpent to rule in her, she gave
also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
26. Thus the foul and deceitful nature of the serpent set up its
growing influence in the first part of man through the second ;
and, by obedience to the serpent, their nature became corrupted
at the root, figuratively compared to an evil tree, all the fruit of
Avhich must consequently be corrupt, until that evil influence
should be overcome by obedience to Christ the seed of promise.
For, "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? " Not one. J°t>, xiv. 4.
27. And thus the devil placed his seat of influence and
dominion in the very instinct or seed of nature, and the nature
of man, like a noble vine, wholly a right seed, became corrupted, Jpr. ii. 21.
and turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine, nourished
according to the corrupt and deceitful law of the serpent, bring-
ing forth fruit unto death.
28. And, as the soul was united to a natural body, man must Rom. viii.
either groan under the oppression of his wicked master to whom Jg] ~ ' v1'
he yielded obedience, until his redemption should appear, or
resign up the body, and every inferior part of the creation to the
sole dominion of evil.
29. But the law of God was in itself eternal, and his purpose
in the creation of man unchangeable, and therefore the devil
could not annihilate the law of God, nor destroy the creation.
Nevertheless the whole creation became corrupted, and its
beautiful order and harmony lost in sin and confusion by dis-
obedience, as it is written, "for we know that the whole creation R0m.viii.
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." 22-
30. No sacred laws of influence, nor ruling power, had any
longer a free course through the governing parts of the natural
creation, to govern from the superior to the inferior; but an un-
clean, deceitful, and rebellious law, seated in the nature of man,
was now the principal motive and leading object of his affections.
31. The soul was no longer led and governed by the pure and
original law of God, but by the now corrupted and growing
passions of an inferior and earthly nature : the male no longer
led by the law of God, but by the law of the devil, through the
female : the female no longer led by the law of God through the
male, but by the law of the devil through the serpent.
32. Thus, although man was created a free agent, as through
that free agency he chose to obey the serpent, rebellion and
confusion spread its baneful influence through the universe, and
man could rise up against man, who was made in the image and
after the likeness of God, and shed each other's blood.
33. The beasts of the field, and the reptiles of the ground,
over which man in his state of innocence had the dominion, could
11
THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF
B. I.
Gal. v. 19
'20, 21.
chat. in now rise up against the most noble part of the creation, while
man against man, and beast against beast, are dreading and
devouring one another.
34. Thus man by his* disobedience, was wholly excluded and
shut out from the way of the tree of life, and ingrafted into an
evil tree ; and all the fruit it could produce must be like itself,
the fruits of a fleshly, earthly, sensual, cruel, and corrupt
nature; "adultery, fornication, unclcamiess, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditious, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like."
35. Instead of purity and holiness, he brings forth sin and un-
cleanness : instead of pure and heavenly affection, lust and wan-
tonness: instead of condescension and obedience, pride and self-
will : instead of tenderness and mercy, oppression and cruelty :
instead of justice and equity, partiality and fraud: instead of
peace and harmony, wars and tumults, seditions and bloodshed,
and all manner of sin and confusion.
36. Such are the dire consequences of man's fall. And, as
man was tempted and overcome by the serpent, who was below
him in the order of the creation, he of course fell below the
order of the brutes, being servant to that to which he yielded
himself servant to obey.
37. And hence it is, that the human species are become
devilish, beastly, and unclean, in their nature and disposition.
And therefore it is said of them, " Ye serpents, ye generation of
vipers!'1'' And again, "What they know naturally, as brute
beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.'1''
38. Unto whatever this subversion of the true order of God
may be likened — whether to a beautiful garden that is laid waste
isa. v. l, 6. and grown over with thorns, or to a tree that becomes degenerate
and corrupt, by being neglected, or transplanted into a bad soil —
it is certain that the knowledge of good and evil does exist in
the mind of man.
39. For the creation remaining united in that which is corrupt,
the soul of man, though a lost captive, cannot but know the
difference between the good, which the dignity of his order
requires him to do, and the evil to which he is enslaved by the
low and beastly appetites of an inferior nature.
40. That which cannot bear the light of men, how shall it
bear the light of a perfectly pure and holy God ? The soul of
every rational creature must therefore ascribe to the agency and
influence of the devil, as well as to the insatiable propensities of
his own corrupted nature, every act that will not bear the inspec-
tion of a fellow creature.
41. The soul cannot but know that a just, righteous and holy
God, never was the original cause of that law or instinct which
Rom. vi.
16.
.las. iii. 15.
ATat. xxiii.
33.
Jude, 10.
B. I. man's fall from his first rectitude. 15
would destroy the dignity and superiority of man, and lead him chap.ih.
to corrupt himself, or to corrupt others, below the order of the
brutal creation.
42. And therefore the creation groaneth in pain, under all
these things that are unclean and abominable in the sight of the
Creator. The works of men have become the " unfruitful works
of darkness; " so that, as it is written, " it is a shame to speak E h y 12
of those things which are done of them in secret." How then
will every secret action appear openly in judgment?
43. It was lust, even the lust of the flesh, that was
imbibed by obedience to the serpent, which corrupted the nature
and disposition, and degraded the dignity of man. Here was
the fountain head, from which all manner of sin and iniquity,
like a mighty torrent, came rolling along down through the fallen
race, corrupting the earth, and teeming with ten thousand evils.
44. From hence have proceeded the greatest of all evils, as
well as the least ; and what still remains as the most striking
evidence of man's fall and depravity, is the shedding of each
other's blood. As it is written, " From whence come ivars and .
fightings amo?ig you? come they not hence, even of your lusts
that war in your members?
45. All fleshy, sensual, carnal, and wanton thoughts and
desires, which captivate the mind, and place it upon any other
object than the perfect will of God, proceeded, through the
serpent, from the source of all evil, and are the effects of the
fall, destructive to the soul, and a fatal bar to man's eternal
peace and happiness.
46. All selfish and fleshly gratifications, and works of un-
cleanness, and all actions, of whatever shape or kind, that
require to be performed secretly and in the dark, to prevent
their being seen and judged by the eye of God or man, originated
with the prince of darkness, are influenced by a base and foul
spirit, are the cause of guilt, and degrade the dignity of man
below the order of the brutes of the field.
47. And that all the hidden works of darkness are of such a
base nature, would immediately appear, were all the secret
actions of the human species to be performed openly and in the
sight of all men. Surely then, the sins of the present generation
would be found to exceed those of Sodom; and their cry surely
ascends up to heaven !
48. And, as God is a God of perfect light and purity, and in i John, i.5.
Him is no sin nor darkness at all, therefore, every work or action
that requires to be performed secretly and in the dark, as well as
every sin that men commit, whether secretly or openly, are all
directly contrary to his purity and holiness, are condemned by
the light of his presence as evil, and exposed to his righteous
indignation.
16
THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF
B. I.
C1IAP. Ill
Mat. xii.
33, 34.
Mark, vii.
21-23.
Jas. i. 17.
Isa. xxix.
15.
Four-fold
State, pp.
40, 41, &c.
Phil. iii. 19.
Isa. i. 3.
49. All tyranny and oppression, of whatever name or kind
under heaven ; all wars and fightings ; all slavery and involuntary
servitude, of whatever sex, trade, or color, barbarous or civilized,
proceeded from the devil, that old enemy to the peace and
happiness of mankind, and entered by the fall, and are a
present and direct violation of the just and righteous laws of
heaven.
50. And also all treachery, or breach of faith in point of office
or trust, relating to the benefit of society ; all negligence of
moral duty in parents to children, and of disobedience in children
to parents ; all unjust and unfair dealing with friend or foe ; all
civil fraud, and hypocrisy in sacred things; all indolence and
sloth, deceit and lying.
51. All these, and every other evil, are the effects of the fall,
throuirh the violation of the righteous laws of God, are degrad-
es O r O
ing to the dignity of man, and are the fruits of an evil and
corrupt tree, implanted by the serpent in man's very heart and
disposition. As it is written.
52. " Ei'her make the tree good, and his fruit good ; or else
make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt : for the tree is
known by his fruit. O generation of vipers ! how can ye,
being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth spcaketh.'"
53. " For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness,
wickedness, deceit, lascivious?iess, an evil eye, blaspliemy , p?'ide,
foolishness. All these come from within, and defile the man.''''
54. Although the root and fountain of all sin and iniquity,
which entered in to nature, and captivated the soul of man by
the fall, could not be fully revealed until Christ should make his
second appearing ; yet (more or less) in every age, since his first
appearing, there have been those who have borne a testimony
against the root of sin, according to that measure of light which
they possessed.
55. For every degree of light that goes to discover sin, be it
more or less, is of God ; and every spirit, that goes to conceal it,
is a spirit of darkness, and arises from a contrary source. And
here it may not be improper to add a few sentences from the
writings of Thomas Boston.
56. "Man certainly is sunk very low now, in comparison of
what he once was, God made him but a little lower than the
angels; but now we find him likened to the beasts that perish :
he hearkened to a brute ; and is now become like one of them —
minding only earthly things. Nay, brutes, in some sort, have
the advantage of the natural man, who is sunk a degree below
them : He is more witless in what concerns him most — He is
more stupid than the ox or ass."
B. I. man's fall from his first rectitude. 17
57. " Nay more than all this, the Scriptures hold out the chap, hi.
natural man, not only as wanting the good qualities of those
creatures ; but as a compound of the evil qualities of the worst
of the creatures — the fierceness of the lion, the filthiness of the
dog and swine, the poison of the asp, and such like. Truth Mat. xxiii.
itself calls them serpents, a generation of vipers; yea, more, 'fo]m viii
even children of the devil. Surely then man's nature is 44.
miserably corrupted/'
58. "Cast your eye upon those terrible convulsions the world
is thrown into by the lusts of men: Lions make not a prey of
lions, nor wolves of wolves; but men are turned wolves to one
another, biting and devouring one another ! Upon how slight
occasions will men sheath their swords in one another's bowels !
These violent heats among Adam's sons, speak the whole body
to be distempered — They surely proceed from an inward cause, Jas. iv. 10.
Lusts that xoar in the members.
59. " Laws are often made to yield to men's lusts — And
seldom is there a time wherein there are not some persons so
great and daring, that the laws dare not look their impetuous
lusts in the face.
60. "Men live as if they were nothing but a lump of flesh. Rom. viii.
They are flesh, they mind the things of the flesh, and they live
after the flesh. If the consent of the flesh be got to an action,
the consent of the conscience is rarely waited for; yea, the
body is often served when the conscience has entered a dissent.
61. "The mind of man has a natural dexterity to devise
mischief; none are so simple as to want skill to contrive ways to
gratify their lusts, and ruin their souls — None need be taught
this black art ; but as weeds grow up of their own accord in the
neglected ground, so doth this wisdom, [which is earthly,
sensual, devlixh,) grow up in the minds of men, by virtue of the
corruption of their nature.
62. " Doth not the carnal mind naturally strive to grasp
spiritual things in imagination, as if the soul were quite immersed
in flesh and blood, and would turn every thing into its own Boston's
shape ? And hence are horrible, monstrous and misshapen gt°"g "p°4o-
thoughts of God, Christ, the glory above, and all spiritual 58.
things."
63. Such, then, are the evil, and deplorable effects of man's
fall from his first rectitude, to which the heavens and earth bear
witness.
18 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, OR B. I.
Gen. ii. 19
20.
CHAPTER IV.
The Mystery of Iniquity, or the Man of Sin, Revealed :
His Rise in the Fall of Man ; by the Subversion of
the Original Order and Law of God.
chap. iv. Man being created male and female, with a living soul, in
which was implanted the image and law of an all-wise, and per-
fectly holy God ; and being united to a terrestrial body, endowed
with animal faculties, sensations and affections, which all origina-
ted from the Fountain of true happiness and everlasting life, he
stood in a noble capacity to honor and glorify his Creator.
2. Thus man in his state of innocence, stood as the temple of
1 Cor. iii. God. As it is written, "Ye are the temple of the living God."
2 'cor. vi. Here were deposited his righteous laws and commands, relating
16- to the order and government of the creation.
3. While as yet the man stood alone, before the woman was
formed, the Lord God brought unto Adam every beast of the
field, and every fowl of the air, and whatsoever he called every
living creature, that was the name thereof. But among all those
for Adam there was not found an help to be with him.
4. Now, upon the supposition that it might still have continued
so, the deficiency in the order and glory of the creation of man
would as sensibly appear, as it would for the natural body of a
rational man, to be divided into two equal parts, the one part
made extinct, and the other left destitute of those co-operating
parts, without which his body could not be complete, nor his
glory augmented.
ch. ii. 21, 5. Rut the Lord God, seeing that it was not good for the man
to be alone, formed him in two parts, male and female ; and
these two parts constituted one entire and complete man as has
been observed.
6. And in this capacity, they were endowed with co-operating
faculties, sensations, and affections, which arising from the true
Source of all goodness, were pure, innocent, and lovely; thus
they were capable of being influenced by proper objects, to
augment their happiness, as well as the honor and visible glory
of the Creator.
7. Consider then, as the living soul of man, with all its
rational faculties, in which the perfect law of God was implanted,
was superior to all the animal sensations, faculties, or affections
of his natural body ; therefore sin could not have entered into
man, but by a willing sacrifice of his reason, and a direct viola-
tion of God's law.
Ezek.xviii.
B. T. THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED. 19
8. And, when man had once sacrificed his reason, and violated CHAP' nr.
God's express command, by obeying the voice of the serpent
through the woman; then the true order of God in the obedience
of the inferior to the superior, was not only subverted, but an
opposite spirit found an easy entrance into man, who stood as
God's temple, claiming the sole right to man's obedience, "shelv-
ing himself that he is God.''''
9. So that it was by the first man's disobedience, that sin Rom. v. 12.
entered the world, and death by sin, forasmuch as death is the
wages of sin. And so death passed upon all men, in that all
Adam's posterity have sinned. And therefore sin is not imputed
to any, merely on account of Adam's original sin and transgres-
sion, but their own sins are imputed to them. " The soul that 20?
sinneth it shall die.''''
10. And as, by a subversion of the true order of God, and the
express violation of this law, a sinful nature entered into the
world, so it took the possession and government of all those
faculties and affections of body and mind, which had constituted
man in his state of innocence, a noble creature.
11. And thus, that wicked taking possession of all that con-
stituted man in his innocent state, constituted himself the man of
sin, and placed himself as God, in the highest and most noble
seat of man's affections ; and there he sat, ever ready to oppose
and exalt himself above and against every work and dispensation 3,4"?!'
of God's grace.
12. And this he did particularly in the days of Christ's first
appearing, because he was essentially disturbed. As saith St.
Paul, " the mystery of iniquity doth already work."
13. Here then, even in the fall of man from his first rectitude,
was the rise of the man of sin, that son of perdition ; and not in
some certain man, or set of men called popes, four or five thou-
sand years after man had received the very nature and disposition
of the serpent. Nay, when a sinful nature first entered into
man, there was the beginning of the man of sin.
14. Love is the fulfilling of God's pure and perfect law. Rom xiii.
The highest, and most noble of all those affections which j0^,,! iv
God placed in man, and the chief and leading motive of all £-21.
his actions, was love. While this remained as his ruling
principle, there could be no transgression, nor any cause of fear
or shame.
15. But, when man rebelled against his Creator, and his sweet
and noble disposition and affections were drawn into the foul and
rebellious nature of the serpent, then was his LOVE converted
into LEST, and it became the principal seat, and fountain head of
the whole serpent's nature and influence ; the leading cause of
every vile affection, and of every evil work; and its gratifications
the primary object of man's desires.
2Thes.ii.
Rom. v. 5.
20
THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, OR
B. I.
CHAP. IV.
Mat. xxiii.
33.
Jiilni, via.
44.
Concord.
-Artii'le
Lust.
Gen. iv. 1.
sai.xxv.7.
Gal. vi. 7,
8.
1 Cor. vi.
i>, 10.
and innocent right to the original law
though it had never been violated.
covering cast
16. And hence it is, that Christ not only calls the fallen race
of Adam, serpents, and a generation of vipers, but further says,
" Ye are of your father the devil ; and, the lusts of your father
ye will do." And hence Cruden, also, among many others, calls
lust, "that original corruption which inclines men to sin and
evil."
17. And thenceforth, even from man's first rebellion, the
fallen posterity of Adam and Eve, could call lust by the name
of love, with the same propriety, and through the same old
deceitful and foul spirit, by which the first deceived woman could
call a murderer, the fruit of her rebellion, "a man from the
Lord!"
18. And herein lies the deceitfulness of sin, and the very
mystery of iniquity, in believing that to be LOVE, which in
truth is nothing but LUST, and thus pretending to claim a just
and order of God, as
This is verily " the face of the
over all people, and the veil that is spread over
all nations.''''
19. Doubtless it will be granted, that a violation of the good
and wholesome laws of a nation, in a case of treason, is a
political iniquity ; and that the man who, either directly or in-
directly violates the laws that arc calculated to promote the
peace and welfare of the nation, excludes himself from any active
part in the administration of those laws.
20. And further, that neither he, nor his confederates, nor any
of their descendants in the same line of treachery and rebellion,
could ever claim any benefits arising from those laws, under any
pretext whatever; but on the contrary, the whole law must
stand as a pointed testimony, to judge and condemn the delin-
quents, and to show them the foulness of their crime.
21. And, should these traitors, after the most notorious viola-
tion of the laws by high treason, be able to insinuate themselves
into the government, and finally supplant the nation by foreign
oppression, under the pretence of supporting its original rights
of freedom, here indeed would be a political mystery of
iniquity.
22. Such is the case of which we are speaking; and such is
the nature of the laws of men, which have arisen from second
causes. Then, shall it be supposed, that the original and
perfectly pure and just laws of the Most High God, are of less
consequence than those of men? Shall they be violated with
impunity, and that too under a pretext of obedience, without
God's notice?
23. Nay verily, let it never be thought. " God is not mocked:
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that
soiveth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption. The
B. I. THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED. 21
tavighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And chap. iv.
though liand join in hand, the wicked shall not be un- prov. x;.
punished." 21-
24. The very laws of nature, being given of God in their pure
and original state, were in themselves immutable in their order,
and laid man under the most solemn obligations to obedience, and
that precisely according to the directions of the Lawgiver.
25. And as the law was in itself perfectly consistent with
the light and reason of his living soul, therefore every part
of it must be punctually obeyed according to this light, and
not according to the dictates of the serpent, nor the animal pas-
sions of an inferior nature.
26. The violation of the law of God, which included the
violation of the law of nature by Adam the first, was of the most
potent and universal kind, as is abundantly acknowledged by
many sensible writers. Concerning which, Boston has the
following :
27. " Their sin was a complication of evils, a total apostasy from Four-fold
God, a violation of the whole law. By it they broke all the ten ,StayeG' 97
commandments at once. They chose new gods. They made
their belly their god, by their sensuality; self their god, by
their ambition; yea, and the devil their god, by believing him,
and disbelieving their Maker.
28. "Though they received, yet they observed not that
ordinance of God, about the forbidden fruit. They contemned
that ordinance so plainly enjoined them, and would needs carve
■out to themselves how to serve the Lord. "
29. Again, says Cruden, " The honor and majesty of the Concord,
whole law, was violated in the breach of that symbolical precept :
£by eating of the forbidden fruit:] many sins were combined in
that single act.
30. "Infidelity: This was the first step to ruin. When he
distrusted the Fountain of truth, he gave credit to the father of
lies. This sin included in it prodigious pride. No sooner created,
than he aspired to be as God.
31. "Horrid ingratitude: Now in the midst of such variety
and plenty, to be inflamed with the intemperate appetite for the
forbidden fruit, and to break a command so equal and easy, what
was it but a despising the rich goodness of his great Benefactor ?
32. "Unaccountable and amazing folly: What a despicable
acquisition tempted him out of his happiness ! That the pleasures
of taste and curiosity should outvie the favor of God, is the
reproach of his reason, and makes the choice so criminal.
33. "A bloody cruelty to himself, and to all his posterity:
Giving a ready ear to the tempter, he betrayed his trust, and
at once breaks both the tables of the law, and becomes guilty of
the highest impiety and cruelty."
Article
Fall.
22
THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, OR
B.I.
CMAP. IV
2 Thes. ii.
■3.
Eph. ii. 3.
Rom. v. 12.
Job, xiv. 4.
Concord.
Article
Sin.
See also
Article
Corruption-
Sermons,
vol. iii. Ser.
48.
Hist, of Re-
demp. p. 48.
Gen. iii. 6,
34. Then certainly it must be evident, that the sin of Adam,
including his posterity, who still continue in the same line of sin
and rebellion, is in a spiritual sense, at least equal, if not far
superior in magnitude to what might be called the highest
treason in a political sense.
35. And therefore the fallen and still sinning posterity of
Adam, could never, after the fall, claim any more right to those
once violated laws of heaven, under any pretence whatever of
keeping them, than Benedict Arnold and his confederates, could
have claimed an active part in the free government of America,
after the most pointed violation and breach of national trust, by
his notoriously treacherous conduct at West Point.
30. What the sin of Adam and Eve was, and how that sin
has been propagated by their posterity, has been very pointedly
hinted at by many candid and sensible men ; but how that sin
has been kept concealed under a veil, has not been brought to
light ; nor could it be, until the time appointed of God.
37. At present, the strict demands of light and truth require
the veil to be removed, and the mystery of sin to be revealed.
Of what some have written particularly on this subject, a few
things may here be noticed.
38. "The Scriptures," says Cruden, "prove in many places,
that the sin" [sinful nature] " of Adam was communicated to all his
posterity," [by ordinary generation] "and that it has infected and
corrupted it. We are by nature the children of wrath; that is,
liable to punishment, and that hath relation to guilt. " By one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death
passed upon all men," as a just sentence upon the guilty, "for
that all have sinned." Job describes this sin, " Who can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.''''
39. "It is the universal law of nature, that every thing pro-
duces its like, not only in regard of the same nature that is
propagated from one individual to another, without a change of
the species, but in respect of the qualities with which that
nature is eminently affected."
40. Again says Bavies : "Flesh of flesh, and spirit of spirit.
This is according to the established laws of generation, by which
everything begets its like." And therefore, by the works of
generation, a sinful nature is communicated, and nourished by the
industry of its propagators, otherwise sin could not be in the
world. Hence the words of Edwards are very true ; when speaking
of Adam and Eve, he says: "All their posterity, by ordinary
generation, are partakers of the fall, and of the corruption of
nature that followed from it."
41. Again, says Osterwald: " Adam and Eve sinned freely and
voluntarily, being deceived by the devil and their own lust.
That the" [acting] " cause of sin is to be found in man, is evident,
33.1.
THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED.
23
not only from the history of Adam's fall, but likewise from our
own experience. For we sin in the same manner as Adam did,
viz: against the divine law, voluntarily, and being seduced by
our own lusts."
42. Again, says Boston, "The corruption of nature is the
river-head, which has many particular lusts in which it runs.
What doth it avail to reform in other sins, while the great reign-
ing sin remains in its full power ? What though some particular
lust be broken; if that sin," [namely, the lust of the flesh,]
" the sin of our nature, keep the throne, it will set up another in
its stead; and, while it stands entire, there is no victory.
43. "It is an hereditary evil: propagated in nature, [or con-
veyed by natural generation.] Consider the confession of
David, "Behold I ioas shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my
mother conceive me." Here he ascends from his actual sin to
the fountain of it.
44. " By this sin," [of Adam and Eve] says the Westminster
Assembly, "they fell from their original righteousness, and com-
munion with God, and so became dead in sin and wholly defiled
in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the
root of all mankind, the same death, in sin and corrupted nature,
was conveyed, to all their posterity, descending from them by
ordinary generation. From which original corruption, do pro-
ceed all actual transgressions."
CHAP. IV.
Ch. Theo.
P. I. ch. iii.
pp. 147,
14S, 155.
Four-fold
State, pp.
39, 40, 107,
108.
Confession
of Faith.
CHAPTER V.
FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NATURE OF THE MYSTERY
OF INIQUITY.
All the foregoing testimonies are strictly true, as they have citap.v.
abundantly proved, not only from matters of fact, but from the
most pointed testimony of the sacred writings; such as the
following :
2. "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they kneiv Gen. iii. 7.
that they were naked : and they saved Jig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons.'1'' " That which is born of the flesh is flesh." John, iii. c.
And, " Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his
oivn lust and enticed. Then, when lust hath conceived, it 3 .
bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, brin get h forth 15.*'
death.'''' And many more proofs to the same purpose.
24
THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, OR
B.I.
CHAP. V.
History of
Redenip. p.
70.
3. Certainly, then, were it not that some misguided and
sanctimonious priesthood had invented a scheme to gratify Lust,
under the alluring and specious pretext of fulfilling an original,
and afterwards basely violated, law of nature, which God gave to
Adam in his state of innocence, it would verily seem, that the
very seat and fountain head of all sin and corruption, might
have been discovered at once, to open view, by no more than the
bare removal of a^ leaf.
4. For they have pointedly proved, that the sin of Adam and
Eve was conveyed to their posterity by the works of natural
generation ; that all their posterity are shapen in iniquity, and
conceived in sin ; that the original corruption of Adam and
Eve, which conceived and brought forth sin was Lust ; and
that when Lust had conceived and brought forth sin, "the eyes
of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked"
5. What could the aforesaid authors have said plainer, un-
less they had pointedly said, that their eating the forbidden fruit,
was the very act by which Adam knew Eve his wife, when
(whatever transgression had been before) she conceived and
brought forth a murderer?
6. Here then is the myst cry of the iniquity; first pointedly
and clearly showing what the very root of all sin is, and how sin
is propagated ; and then again concealing the whole matter under
the specious pretext of a command or an ordinance of God, so
abundantly acknowledged to have been most basely violated.
What ! is God the author of sin ? Nay, in nowise ; the same
writers have justly proved that he is not !
7. It is certain that the law of nature which forms a cloud
and spreads it over the earth, creates it for the purpose of water-
ing the earth, and causing it to be fruitful.
8. And it is equally certain, that the law of the eternal
"WORD, which created man soul and body, male and female,
intended by the very law of their creation, that they should
be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue
it.
9. For this very purpose, they were endowed with those
animal faculties and sensations, which in due subordination to the
law and command of God, would have innocently constituted
them one flesh, in the work of generation.
10. But it is as certain and positive a truth, that those
instincts of nature, or animal properties, never were in-
tended to lead and govern the soul, or even to act without
the soul's decided approbation. And therefore, while the soul
kept its first rectitude, and subdued every inferior passion,
which might arise in consequence of his state of probation,
there never could have been the least cause or foundation for
shame.
B. I. THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED. 25
11. And thus, while the man and the woman stood in upright- CIIAI> v.
ness and innocence, they were both naked, and were not ashamed,
"which certainly implies," says a judicious author, "not only
that their nakedness was no just cause of shame, but that
they never could have known it, had their innocence continued.
12. "Before the fall, they doubtless knew that they had no
clothing ; but now their eyes were opened, and they had
acquired a criminal knowledge, and became sensible of a passion
to which they had ever before been strangers, namely, shame.
13. "The origin of this will be easier to account for, if we
supposed with some,* that the juice of this tree was inebriating
[i.e. intoxicating] ; since we know from common observation,
that juices of such a quality will excite debauchery, produce
strange commotions in the animal frame, and give a strong pre-
dominancy to the animal appetites.
14. " tinder these circumstances we need not wonder at the
subterfuges [tricks or evasions] to which they ran, since it is
never expected that the conduct of persons under the power of
intoxication, or the oppression of guilt, should be perfectly con-
sistent with the rules of cool reflection."
15. According to the above, shame was the effect of a crimi-
nal knowledge, which is most strictly true. By eating the for-
bidden fruit, they knew that they were naked ; and hence that
shameful act is so commonly expressed by the term knowing.
16. Adam knew Eve his wife. Doubtless he was well ac-
quainted with her before ; but now he kneio her in a shameful
and criminal manner, in consequence of which they walked
naked, and their shame appeared. And from hence the above
author makes the following plain observation :
17. " It is remarkable, that the custom of covering the pri- Hist, of
vate parts should so generally obtain, even among barbarous 71e empP-
nations ; an entire disuse of clothing in both sexes is, perhaps,
nowhere practised, except where promiscuous intercourse is also
allowed, and men and women couple like the brutes."
18. Therefore, as shame is the effect of a criminal knowledge,
and as the seat of that criminal knowledge is manifest by the
universal practice of all nations in hiding it, hence it is evident
that the criminality of that knowledge arose from an unseason-
able and untimely use of those bodily organs and animal faculties,
which were created to be under the government and direction of
a superior law.
* Milton gives a striking description of the effects of the forbidden fruit on
Adam and Eve, in the following lines :
" But that false fruit
Carnal desire inflaming : he on Eve
Began to cast lascivious eyes ; she him
As wantonly repaid ; in lust they burn."
Paradise, Lost, Bonk IX.
3
26 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, OR B. I.
chap. v. 19, And as the first transgressors of the human race covered
the parts through which they had violated the command of God,
with fig-leaves, so, under a specious pretext, sin has reigned
since the fall, and deceived the nations of the earth. And this
is brought to light that the words of God might be fulfilled,
isai. iii. 17. " The Lord will discover their secret parts."
20. And yet that lawless and unruly passion of lust, in
polluting and corrupting the order of creation, has claimed
either the law of nature, or the express command of God for its
authority; although it is so evident that by the very first act of
that kind in which man went forth, he violated not only the law
of nature, but God's express command !
21. It is also generally acknowledged, (as we have shown
from eminent authorities,) that shame is the effect of sin, and
that the sinful nature of Adam and Eve is conveyed to their
posterity by the very act of natural generation.
22. How then is it, that the fallen posterity of Adam have,
under the sacred pretext of a command or ordinance of God,
pretended to solemnize that which in itself is profane, and to
sanctify that unclean thing, out of which they have proved to a
demonstration that they can bring nothing clean?*
Four-foil 23. Well, therefore, said Boston: "Adam confesseth his
state, P. 40, nakedness, which he could not get denied, but not one word he
says of his sins ; here was the reason of it, he would fain have
hid it if he could. Adam's children need not be taught this
hellish policy, for before they can well speak, (if they cannot
get the fact denied,) they will cunningly lisp out something to,
lessen their fault, and lay the blame upon another.
24. " Nay, so natural is this to men, that in the greatest of
sins they will lay the fault upon God himself. And was not this
one of Adam's tricks after his fall ? The man said, ' The woman
whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I
did eat.'' He makes his apology in the first place, and then
comes to his confession ! His apology is long, but his confession
is very short, as if he was afraid his meaning should have been
mistaken !
25. " lThewoma?l,, says he, or that ivoman! as if he would
have pointed the judge to his own work. There was but one
woman then in the world, yet she is as carefully marked out in
his defence as if there had been ten thousand !
26. "' The woman whom thou gavest meV Here he speaks
as if he had been ruined with God's gifts ! and to make the shift
* Notwithstanding those plain demonstrations, some affect to believe that the
corruptions of the fallen nature of man are not propagated by generation ; but that
the offspring of man now come into the world as pure as when first created. But
this is a contradiction of every known principle of existence, for no fact is better
known than that every corrupt plant propagates its corruptions by its seed.
B. I. THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED. 27
look the blacker, it is added to all this, Thou gavest to be with chap, vi.
me, to stand by me as a helper, as if he would have fathered an
ill design upon the Lord, in giving him this gift !
27. "He says not, the woman gave me, but ' The woman she
gave meV emphatically, as if he had said, she, even she, gave
me of the tree. This much for his apology; but his confession,
is quickly over: '■And I did eat,'' And there is nothing here
to point to himself, and as little to shew what he had eaten.
How natural is this black art to Adam's posterity ! He that
runs may read it."
28. So plainly have discerning men pointed out the very root
and foundation of all iniquity, and proved their remarks, not
only from the sacred writings, but from common observation,
drawn from the most noted and universal facts.
CHAPTER VI.
THE MYSTERY OP INIQUITY FURTHER REVEALED.
After all that has been said concerning the root of human
depravity, yet such is the deceitfulness of that lawless and cor-
rupt nature of the serpent which man imbibed by the fall, and
such is the depth of that "mystery of iniquity,'''1 as to claim its
right of indulgence, under the covert of the original law of God
— an ordinance of heaven !
2. And not only so, but whenever it is molested by God's
claim to the principal seat of man's affections, it has the imper-
tinence to question : — How could Adam violate the law of
nature in knowing his wife, when she was designedly made for
And it is also well known, that all the corruptions of blood and foul disorders with
which parents are affected, are infused into their offspring by natural generation.
It is equally certain that the children are affected, more or less, according to cir-
cumstances, by all the mental propensities of their parents. It is in this manner
that the " iniquities of the father are visited upon the children," and not by any
arbitrary decree. (Ex. xxxiv. 7.)
Therefore, parents who seek to justify the carnal works of the flesh, under the
pretext of a command of God to "be fruitful and multiply," assume a solemn
and weighty responsibility. Let them first examine whether they are in a state
to propagate such fruit as God required, by the original order of nature; and, if
they are in a state to propagate either physical or mental corruption and misery
in their offspring, let them know that, in thus doing for their own gratification,
they sin against every principle of God's creation, and they will surely have to
meet a righteous and just reward.
28 THE MYSTERY OP INIQUITY, OR B. I.
ciiap^vi. jji1Ui ami natui-c had furnished them with those faculties by
which they came together in that order ?
3. Those who have light and reason enough to know what the
perfect law of nature requires, will not ask this question, know-
ing that God is not the author of sin, nor of that lawless instinct
which gives the predominancy to the animal appetites, and de-
bases the dignity of man below the order of the brutes.
4. But to such as (according to what is written) " know noth-
Jude, 10. ing but what they know naturally and hi those things corrupt
themselves,'" under a pretended cloak of obeying God's command,
if they will exercise their reason, the answer is plain and evident
from the following natural similitudes.
5. Would it not be just and right in a wise and prudent
parent, who should plant an apple tree among the trees of his
garden, more excellent than the rest, for the express use of his
children, to lay them under an entire prohibition from eating or
touching that tree, until the fruit was fully ripe ? And would it
not be time enough for that prohibition to be taken off when the
fruit was ready for use ?
6. And should the children, through some disorderly influence
upon their youthful appetites, be so deceived by the appearance
of the blossoms or green fruit, as to pluck and eat them, would
not this be an express violation of the law of nature in that case,
as well as of the express command of their parent ?
7. Here, then, would be the deceitfulness of the transgression,
in corrupting their blood, and continually abusing the tree and
themselves, under the pretence that their father gave it to them ;
and neither suffering their tree to bring forth ripe fruit, nor
themselves to enjoy that benefit from it which their father
intended.
8. The smallest capacity may apply this to the original and
present state of man. The law of nature established in the
creation of man, could not be inferior to the law established in
the tree yielding fruit, whose seed is in itself, and being regula-
ted by the times and seasons of God's appointment, must bring
forth fruit according to that appointment.
9. Thus in the creation of man, by the very law of his exist-
ence his seed was in himself; and, had his conduct been regulated
according to God's appointment, he would have propagated his
own species agreeable to the will of the Creator, and also accord-
ing to the law of nature, in the times and seasons which He
appointed.
10. Therefore, by the very existence of the laws of creation,
Adam and Eve were forbidden to come to the knowledge of
generation until the time appointed by the Creator. But, as
they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, and were
influenced by the serpent to counteract his laws, they were
B. I. THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED. 29
unseasonably led by the devil into the knowledge of generation, chap.vi.
instead of being led or directed by the law of God.
11. And hence all the motives and actions of man, in the
works of nature, are corrupt, and contrary to the pure law of the
Creator, yet deceitfully covered under the pretence of fulfilling
the original law of nature, or more deceitfully and shamefully
cloaked under the plausible but hypocritical pretence of obeying
the commands of God, so basely violated.
12. Again, take the following similitude. In the year 1802,
the convention of the state of Ohio formed a constitution, in
which is the following sentence : "But no alteration of this An vn.
constitution shall ever take place, so as to introduce slavery or yec- °"
involuntary servitude into this state."
13. Then, in consequence of this article, the citizens of Ohio
are forever secured in the possession of their rights of liberty
and freedom.
14. But should a foreign slaveholder infuse his principles into
the Governor of Ohio, and he should publish his sentiments in
favor of slavery, must he not, upon the very principles of the
constitution, be deposed from his office ? And should he himself
be determined to hold slaves, must he not go entirely out of the
state ? And when he is out of the state, can he have anything
more to do with the constitution or laws of Ohio, or they with
him ?
15. The case is plain to a demonstration ; and although he
may do many things which appear like what the laws of Ohio
enjoin, yet, while he holds slaves, and lives in a slave country,
these laws can have no influence upon him, because he is not
under their jurisdiction.
16. And should he even take a copy of the laws with him into
a slave country, yet he could not enjoy the common privileges
of a citizen of Ohio, for the constitution expressly declares that
"There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in Art. viii.
this state." And he is neither in the state of Ohio, nor subject Sec" 2'
to its laws.
17. Again, it is declared by the same constitution, " That all
men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty
God according to the dictates of conscience ; that no human Ibi(,
authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with Sec. s
the rights of conscience ; and that no preference shall ever be
given by law, to any religious society or mode of worship."
18. Here again the word eve?-, forever secures to the citizens
of Ohio free liberty of conscience in matters of religion.
19. But should any society remove out of the bounds of the
state, and form a new settlement, where they could establish
their religion by law, and institute the most cruel modes of
persecution — could they claim any relation to the laws of Ohio,
30 THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, OR B. I.
chap, vi. because they had once lived in that state, and removed out of it?
The deceitfulness of such a pretence would be at once manifest.
20. Then, what higher pretence can fallen man have to the
original constitution and commands of God which he was under
before his disobedience ? Did he not violate them, and become
guilty of the highest impiety ?
21. Nay, more: was he not condemned as a traitor? Yea,
verily, and actually banished from any right to the tree of life.
Gen. iii. As it is written, " Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from
the garden of Eden. So he drove out the man. And he placed
Ezek. i., x. cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life.''''
22. These represented the four dispensations through which
man had necessarily to pass before he could partake of the spiritual
tree of life, and thereby rise from the death (caused by his fall) into
the superior life of his true order. Thus the way to the tree of
life was protected from corruption by the flaming sword of the
guardian angels.
23. And shall fallen man, being banished from his primitive
abode take with him a copy of the law he has basely violated,
together with the corrupt and deceitful spirit of the serpent which
he had obeyed ? and shall he, in that same corrupt and deceitful
spirit, go forth and " be fruitful '," under pretence of obeying the
command of God given in his state of innocence, and so fill the
earth with corruption and violence — blood crying unto blood —
while the beasts of the field, more orderly than he, set him an
example of "times and seasons?"
24. And shall Cain also claim a right to that original and
pure law of nature, and obey the command of God, to " multiply
and replenish the earth'''' and at the same time abstract one from
the number, by imbruing his hands in his brother's blood ?
25. Oh, how inconsistent, cruel, devilish, and supremely deceit-
ful are the demands of lust ! !
26. And yet both ancient and modern divines, and their
followers, have indulged and recommended, and do indulge and
recommend, the gratification thereof, under that specious pretext
they call "a holy ordinance of God; " concealing its defiling
properties under the fig leaf of " the sin of our nature."
Domestic 27. Again take the following similitude : Dr. Buchan observes,
p. 27°pSi. that "The Jews, by their laws, were, in certain cases, forbid to
Ed. 1797. have any manner of commerce with the diseased ; and indeed to
this all wise legislators ought to have a regard. In some
countries, diseased persons have actually been forbidden to marry.
This is an evil of a complicated kind, a natural deformity, and
political mischief."
28. Then, admitting such a law to exist, as only permitted the
healthy and firm to propagate the species, and some one, after
B. I. THE MAN OF SIN, REVEALED. 31
obtaining license by law, should fall under a mortal consumption, chap. vi.
would he be actuated by a just regard to the law, in going forth
and begetting a son in his own likeness — a partaker of his con-
sumptive blood ? Surely not. He would be actuated by some
other motive than to fulfil the law.
29. Yet if he chose, he misrht cover his base motive with the
license which he lad received while in a state of health, until he
was actually brought into judgment, and his condition made
manifest, that he is not now the proper person to whom the
license was given.
80. Or, should his deplorable offspring keep his license, and
try to prove that the court had licensed them, by licensing their
once healthy father ; the deceitfulness of their pretext would still
be worse. And, although they might say their license was given
according to law, and therefore what they did was lawful; yet
the law could never notice them, unless to reject, and cut them
off from the communion of the healthy.
81. The weakest capacity may apply this case to the fall of
man, and see at once the deceitfulness of sin, and the subtle
means by which, like a strong man armed, the man of sin has
kept his palace, and his goods in peace.
32. And such, verily, are the deceitful means by which SIN
has been concealed in a mystery, and kept the whole creation
under death and bondage; servants to sin, and those secret
works of darkness which are far beneath the perfect law of nature,
and infinitely beneath every law and attribute that can possibly
endure the light or presence of that God who is A consuming fire.
33. It must be granted by all, that God formed the woman
for the man, and gave her to him, and commanded them to be
fruitful : at least, it was a natural law established in them by the
order of their creation. Bat how were they fruitful? Did God
own that for proper fruit which they brought forth ?
34. The effect must be like its cause. "A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit." Their first fruit (of which Ave have an ac-
count) was a murderer, which proved that the cause from which he
sprang, was something wholly different from the original and
pure law of nature; as it is written, " Cain was of that wicked Uohn,m.
one, and slew his brother.'''' Hence it is certain that he was not 12-
begotten according to the will of God, but through the lusts of the
wicked one.
35. Therefore, as the first fruit was corrupt, and proved itself
the fruit of a corrupt tree, it follows, beyond all contradiction,
that the vjkole lump of the fruit which that tree ever after l Cor. v. 6.
brought forth, was also corrupt. Flesh of flesh, foul spirit of
foul spirit, and corruption of corruption, according to the now
established, corrupted, and perpetually violated laws of natural
generation. Hence it is, that Christ told the seed of Abraham,
32 THE DECEPTIVE OPERATIONS 13. I.
chap. << Ye arc of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father
' ye will do."
36. Nevertheless, the law and commandment which God gave
to man, was in itself good, and although corrupted and changed,
Rom i. 23, as they " changed the truth of God into a lie,'" yet it could not be
25- destroyed, but still remained as a witness against the transgres-
Rom vii sor- Hence it is written, the law is holy, and the command-
12. ment holy, and just, and good.
37. It was a just, holy, and good God, that commanded man
to multiply and replenish the earth. And man was also
created pure and innocent. Of course, the commandment
was like Him that gave it, and him to whom it was given,
and therefore required as the fruit, a just and good seed,
without which the demands of that law could never be
answered.
38. But, when man was seduced, by the nature of the serpent
in the woman, he became " carnal, and sold under sin" and
was led captive by a laio in his members, which was contrary to
the original law of his mind.
39. Therefore, the commandment, which was in itself good,
Ecci. vii. and given to one who was made upright, and which called for the
29' same kind of fruit, could by no means apply to one who was
fallen from his primitive rectitude, and whose very nature was
corrupt.
CHAPTER VII.
THE DECEPTIVE OPERATIONS OF THE MAN OP SIN.
Nevertheless, as the law of nature stood, being the
essence of natural life, and the commandment was intended to
stand until the true spiritual seed should appear, it gave occasion
to the greatest possible deception; as says St. Paul concerning
the law of God: " Sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
11,13,22,' wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For sin, taking
23' occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew
me."
2. " Was then, that which is good made death unto me?
By no means : But sin, that it might appear sin, working death
in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment
Rom. vii. 8,
B. I. OF THE MAN OF SIN. 33
might become exceeding sinful. For I delight in the law of Cy^p
God after- the inward man. But 1 see another law in my mem- -
bers warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the laic of sin which is in my members." This
lie evidently spake personating the natural man.
3. And thus, while the original law required upright man to
be fruitful, it could only work in fallen man all manner of con-
cupiscence.
4. And so long as he imagined, by that deceitful and corrupt
nature of the serpent, that the command was to him, he was
essentially deceived, and the very fruit of his pretended obedience
stood as a witness to condemn him, and to prove that he was not
the one who could answer the demands of a holy and, just law.
5. The very design of sin, through the instigation of the
devil, was to bring death, and destroy the creation ; and had not
God retained in his own power the eternal law and nature of Mat .
man, the human race must have become extinct, and no f.csli 22.
could have been saved.
6. For the strictest laws that were ever civen anions; men,
for the punishment of evil doers, come far short of the original
brightness of that pure and inflexible nature of God, which, like
a flaming sword, stood pointedly against every sensation of a
carnal mind.
7. Hence it is written, " The xvrath of God is revealed from Rom. i. is.
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
hold, the truth in unrighteousness.''''
8. And how could they hold the truth in unrighteousness ?
Manifestly in holding that the commands of God, which were
true and righteous in themselves, and given to upright man in a
state of innocence, were still extended (for propagation) to them,
though in a fallen state, and in that corrupt nature of the ser-
pent, which is unrighteousness in the very abstract.
9. Thus, they could hold the truth that man and woman
were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth, and use
this as a sacred covering for the life of all their most hidden
abominations, and "freely," says Boston, "do that in secret
which they would be ashamed to do in the presence of a child ;
as if darkness could hide from an all-seeing God !"
10. Well, therefore said God, by the Prophets, "Wo unto is xxix.15.
them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and Jer' v' 9-
their works are in the dark?" "Shall I not visit for these
things? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as
this?"
11. It is certain that God, from time to time, destroyed the
nations of the earth for their acts of abomination, committed
through the lust of concupiscence ; and if so many thousands
and millions were actually destroyed, according to the measure
34 THE DECEPTIVE OPERATIONS B. I.
chap. 0f God's righteous law, revealed from time to time, for such acts
'. as were openly committed, what must have become of the world,
if all the secret actions of every individual had been brought
naked into judgment, and laid open to view, and received their
Rom vii. f11^ reward ? How truly was it said, that sin wrought death by
13. that which is "nod !
12. Surely then, had God openly denounced and executed his
wrath and just displeasure against corrupt and fallen man, per-
sonally, to the extent of his deserts, his punishment and weight
of condemnation must have been more than he could have borne.
13. But the purpose of God in the creation of man being in
itself eternal and unchangeable, could not be frustrated, although
the pure law of nature itself was violated and corrupted by the
agency of man.
14. It was therefore in mercy to fallen man, whose life was
intended for wise purposes to be prolonged, that God denounced
the curse upon the serpent above all creatures, as an emblem or
figure of that miserable race which he had infected with his
poison.
15. The pure law of nature, which God placed in man, as
well as in the animal or brute creation, when he directed them
to "be fruitful and multiply,'''' was at the beginning, holy, just,
and good, being given by a perfectly just and holy Grod, as hath
been observed.
16. So that before man hearkened to the serpent, and fell
below the rest of the animal creation, in the order of nature
there could be no unclean, lascivious, or inordinate desire of the
flesh, to rule his animal faculties; nothing but motives pure and
consistent with the law of God, in his mind.
17. A pure and simple desire of planting seed and raising a
crop, is entirely different and distinct from the curious researches
of the naturalist, who searches out all the properties and quali-
ties of the ground in which the seed is planted. An honest
Col. ii. s. farmer may discharge his duty without searching into vain phi-
losophy merely to please his curiosity and gratify a vain feeling.
18. But Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bare
Cain. The sacred text does not say he begat Cain, or that he
knew her for the purpose of begetting ; that was not his motive,
for " Cain was of that wicked one." But he knew his wife, and
she conceived ; and what was the fruit of that conception ? A
murderer !
Prov. xxi. 19. "The plowing of 'the wicked is sin." "God causeth his
Mat v. 45, sun to rise upon the evil, and sendeth rain upon the unjust.''''
vii. 23. Yet He saith unto such, " I never knew you.''''
20. Then, might not Adam have fulfilled, in God's appointed
time and season, the pure and innocent law of nature, without
intruding into that beastly and forbidden knowledge, which
B. I.
OF THE MAN OF SIN.
35
destroyed his dignity, and degraded him below the order of the
beasts of the field ?
21. But when lust had conceived, it brought forth sin. Then
"the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
were ■naked.'''1 And he "knew his wife, and she conceived.'1''
And then, and not till then, he could say, " I see another law!"
22. Then the pure law of nature was perverted into this other
law — A LAW OF SIN ! A MAN OF SIN ! A STRONG MAN ARMED !
" A law of sin, warring against the law of his mind, and bring-
ing into captivity" his noblest affections, his reason, his judg-
ment, and every sensation and faculty of his mind and body, to
this law of sin in his members.
23. Then did the man of sin set himself in the temple of
God, ordering the faculties, and claiming the highest affections
CHAP
VII.
Rom.
23.
of man to that which is highly esteemed
among
men, which is
Luke, xvi.
the lust of the flesh, the root of all evil, an abomination in the is.
sight of God.
24. And thus did the man of sin, that corrupt nature of the
serpent, set himself in the place of the pure law of God, and
under a sacred cloak of pretended love and obedience to the
only true God, concealed the fountain of iniquity in a mys-
tery, shewing, himself that he is God, by alluring through the
lusts of the flesh, and pretending that God ought to be so wor-
shipped.
25. Therefore we say, if there be a man and woman now
existing on the earth, honestly united in a covenant of promise
to each other, who have so much of the fear of God as neither
to touch, taste, nor handle the unclean thing, who never gratify
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, in any manner whatever,
except barely and conscientiously to propagate offspring, and
that with the motive to obey the will of God, they are verily an
honor to the original law of nature, a blessing to themselves and
posterity, and an example to the human race.
26. And therefore, even with regard to the law of nature,
which is inferior to the law of grace, such, and none but such,
under any pretext, however sacred, need ever expect to answer
a clear conscience, before that just and perfect Law -giver, who
will '■'■render his anger with fury, and his rebuke ivith flames of i|a" xvl'
fire."
27. But we say, moreover, that none, under the covenant of
the flesh since the fall of man — no, not one — ever did before
God keep that law in its purity ; nay, even those who profess to
be under a covenant of grace, and make the most sanctified out-
ward appearance before men, do (more or less) violate the perfect
law and order of nature, and, by a contrary law of evil concu-
piscence, do that which their light and conviction forbid. For
the truth of this we appeal to the consciences of all men.
36 THE DECEPTIVE OPERATIONS &C. B. I.
CHAP. 28. Here we shall make one remark, which is worthy the
_J observation of all good men; or such as desire to be so, and that
is, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. And
1 ,1- ' were it pointedly declared by an angel commissioned from
heaven, that every secret action which is now performed under
the cloak of an ordinance of God, should be openly and publicly
performed, it would be detested by the wickedest men on earth.*
29. Then, from what has been said, let not any of the sons
and daughters of fallen Adam think to escape the severity of
God's righteous law, by imputing the blame of their own sins to
the transgression of their original father and mother, while they
themselves are guilty of the same sin, and violate the same law :
16. ' "for as is the root, so are the branches."
30. Neither let any one be guilty of such horrid impiety as to
imagine that a just and righteous God will impute Adam's ori-
ginal sin to his posterity, nor punish them, unless they in like
manner violate the law of their creation by committing actual
transgression. For " the son shall not bear the iniquity of the
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. As
I live, saith the Lord God, the soul thai si/ineth it shall die.''''
31. It therefore remains with all those who make a sacred
profession of God's law, and do not live up to it, either to re-
move the fig leaf, the veil of their sin, and the sacred cloak of a
profession, and candidly acknowledge their loss from God and
ignorance of his law, or otherwise perfectly to keep that law in
every jot and tittle. Honesty is the best policy, in the sight of
God, angels, and just men.
32. For certain it is, that God will require his own " with
usury,'" and not with abuse, and that, according to his unchange-
able purpose, " He will destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all
nations."
33. For although man has become a captive to that " law
OP sin," and fallen entirely under its dominion, and notwith-
standing it works in him all manner of concupiscence, and, con-
trary to the law of light, leads him into the most secret and
abominable actions, which cannot bear the presence of even an
innocent child, or a fellow creature, and much less the inflexible
light and purity of a just and holy God.
34. Yet the supporters of this very " law of sin" have the
effrontery to call it the original and pure lata oj nature, and to
* Lost as mankind are in the lust of the flesh, yet even their little remaining
sense of purity must teach them that a God who is worshipped by such acts as
cannot endure the light of the sun, or the sight of men, must be a God of dark-
ness, and not of light. By this let every candid person discriminate between
those acts which are acceptable to that God who is light, in whom is no darkness,
and those which are congenial to darkness itself; and by this criterion let all men
judge what kind of a god they worship.
Isa. xxv. 7.
B. I. THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 37
vindicate its existence and lawless actions, by specious reason- Cy^i'
ings, from a claim to the original command or ordinance of God,
" Ee fruitful." The deepest deception ! A very mystery!
35. For "unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do ^a]^s 0\'
to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant 2s!
into thy mouth? seeing thou hatest instruction, and, easiest my
words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief then thou, con-
sentedst with him, and hast been a partaker with adulterers."
36. " These things hast thou done, and I kept silence ; thou
thought est that I was altogether such an one a.s thyself : but I
will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now
consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and
there be none to deliver."
37. " / planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; hoio Jer.ii. 21,
then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine
unto me? For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee
much soap, yet is thine iniquity marked before me, saith the
Lord God."
38. Thus far concerning that mystery, which, as a veil, has
covered the iniquity of all nations.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OP HUMAN DEPRAVITY.
It is granted that sin is the first cause of shame; for, when
Adam and Eve stood in a state of innocence, they were both
naked, and were not ashamed. But no sooner had they trans-
gressed, than they felt shame, and made themselves aprons of fig-
leaves, to cover and hide something from each other.
2. And as they begat children in their own likeness ; from
thence it is decided, by the practice of all nations, what part that
was which they covered, and, of course, where the seat of sin is.
3. But what was the matter with that part ? Why did the
shame occasioned by sin, fall particularly there ? If their trans-
gression is to be considered in a literal sense only, and not as
represented in a figure, why did not the shame fall upon the
hand that took the fruit, and the mouth that ate it ?
4. But it does not appear that God took any notice of the
hand, or the mouth, in pronouncing the curse which they had
15.
38 THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OP HUMAN DEPRAVITY. B. I'
f
chap, merited ; but laid it on the same part which they covered, and o
! — which they were ashamed.
5. And God said unto the woman, " I will greatly multiply
♦^See thy sorroiv, and thy conception; thy desire (*or lust) shall he
Ea'i '■!)' 3" fo ^J husband, and he shall rule over thee."
Cruden, 6. Why multiply her sorrow and her conception?' Why not
Nestle punish her some other way ? God distributes punishments accord-
ing to the nature of the crime.
Num xi. 7. The Israelites lusted for flesh, and their punishment was to
33' 34, have their fill of it, till it turned into a great plague, and they
Psalm died with it between their teeth. As it is written, " he gave
3ofvm' ~ ' thtm their own desire ; they rocre not estranged from their lust.'"'1
8. Hence, from the very nature of the curse denounced upon
the woman, it is easy to see wherein the offence lay ; a curse of
which all her daughters, especially those of her child-bearing
daughters, have had more or less sorrowful experience even to
this day; and this curse is augmented in proportion to their
violation of the order of nature and inordinate gratifications of
lust,
Gen iii. 14, 9. "And unto the serpent the Lord God said, Because thou
hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle — And I will put
enmity betioeen thee and the woman, and between thy seed and,
her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his
heel."
10. Now, if this serpent is to be understood literally, only as
a natural serpent or snake, and the seed of the woman be Jesus
Christ ; when, or how, was ever the thing literally fulfilled ?
11. The truth is, the words of God to the serpent, are to be
understood in a figurative sense. And the serpent here meant,
(what ever might be the figure) is that old serpent the devil, and
l John, in. ga^ailj wj10 deceiveth the nations ; for he it is whose works
Christ came to destroy.
12. But when we say the serpent, whose head Christ was to
bruise, was not a natural serpent, or snake, this is not saying,
that there was no natural animal in the case. To say the figure
of a thing is not the substance, is not saying there was no figure.
The word here improperly rendered serpent, does not signify a
snake according to the original, but a creature nearest in know-
ledge toman, and may be called a serpent, because of the crooked
and poisonous qualities infused thereby into man through the
medium of his animal nature.
13. And if the " garden " and its " tree of life," its "tree of
the knowledge of good and evil," and its " serpent," are to be
understood wholly in a literal sense, as natural things, then
where are those things at this time ?
14. It is evident from the Scriptures, that the tree of life, in a
spiritual sense, was not destroyed, but still remains. As it
8.
Uev. xx. 3
B. I. THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OP HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 39
is written, " Blessed are they that do his commandments, that CH,fIp"
they may have right to the tree of life." The tree of life is that
spiritual agency which ministers the way of life. ?,ev- xxii-
15. Then, as life is represented by a tree, so is the knowledge
of good and evil ; and so also the serpent has his head, and the
woman her seed, in a figure.
16. It is certain that the nature and image of the serpent is
formed in fallen man, that is, a poisonous and destructive nature,
from whence Christ said, " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers !"
And as it is by means of certain passions or affections that man
is formed, it must be among these that this serpent's head is to
be found.
17. The head of any thing is the highest or uppermost part :
that which is superior to any other part. And that which
forms or produces a thing must be its superior and proper
head.
18. Therefore, as man is not literally a serpent or a snake, it
cannot be literally his head that is to be bruised. But as the
body is made up of different members or parts, so in these is
represented that system, or body of affections, desires and pro-
pensities, by which man is led and governed.
19. And if the affections and desires of fallen man are low,
mean and base, resembling the subtilty and poison of the ser-
pent, then it must be among these that we are to look for the
serpent's head ; and this must be his highest affection, that in
which he finds supreme delight.
20. By the fall, the whole body of the serpentine nature was
formed in man ; but the head of this body is not the inferior, but
the superior part ; and every part of the body, though of one
nature, must be distinguished from the head, and all are dependent
on and subject to it.
21. Hence it is written, "Mortify your members which are Col. iii. 5,
upon the earth ; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, 8'9,
evil concupiscence, and covetous?iess, which is idolatry. But
nolo ye put off all these : anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy,
filthy commutdcation out of your mouth, seeing ye have put
off the old man with his deeds, in putting off the body of the chap. ii.n.
sins of the flesh.''''
22. Every one knows that anger, wrath, malice, covetousness,
uncleanness, and such like, are not members of the human body,
yet they are members of that body which is called " the body of
the sins of the flesh.'''' And as every body must have a head,
and as these members or affections are of a low, base, serpentine
nature, of course their head must be in the substance, that head
of the serpent which Christ was to bruise.
23. Then, as the leading part of the serpent's image which
was formed in man, can exist only in the principal or leading
40 THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OP HUMAN DEPRAVITY. B. I.
CvVnP' Par* °^ man's affections, of course it may easily be deteimiined
_ '. — where it is that the head of the serpent lies.
2-1. Every part of man is possessed of some sensitive quality,
yet his affections are not inherent in him, but are created by
means of certain objects presented to him.
25. Thus he has a sense of seeing, hearing and feeling ; but
he cannot see where there is no light, he cannot hear where
there is no sound, nor feel where there is nothing to feel ; so
neither can he love where there is nothing lovely, nor be pleased
where there is nothing pleasing.
26. And although man is composed of so many capacities and
organs of sense, yet they cannot be all equal ; there must be a
ruling sense, some one that is counted more noble, that is quicker
in its motion, and affords superior enjoyment in its gratification.
Thus, as this ruling sense is capable of being moved only by
some other object, so that which creates, or gives life to this
sense, must also be the supreme object.
27. Then what is there in the universe, within the compre-
hension of man, that has so sensible, so quick and ravishing an
operation, as a corresponding desire of the flesh in the different
sexes ? iVnd in proportion as that desire is manifested by words
or actions in either, so much the more is that head, or chief pas-
sion, quickened and inflamed.
28. For that desire for carnal enjoyment, that mutually
operates between male and female, is far more powerful than
any other passion in human nature. Man, under its influence,
bears everything before him with impetuosity.
29. Surely, then, that which shuts the eyes, stops the ears,
and stupefies the sense to all other objects of time or eternity,
and swallows up the whole man in its own peculiar enjoyment,
must be the fountain head and the governing power.
30. And such is that feeling and affection which is formed by
the near relation and tie between the male and female, that being
corrupted by the subversion of the original law of God, it
changes that which in the beginning was pure and lovely, into
the poison of the serpent, and the noblest affection of man into
the seat of human corruption. To which the following words of
Boston will justly apply :
Four-fold 31. " A disease affecting any particular member of the body
ioG.eio7 is iH ; but that which affects the whole, is worse. The corrup-
,os- tion of nature is the poison of the old serpent, cast into the
fountain of action, and so affects every action, every breathing
of the soul.
32. " It is the cause of all particular lusts and actual sins in
our hearts and lives. It is the spawn which the great leviathan
has left in the souls of men, from whence comes all the fry of
actual sins and abominations. It is the bitter fountain; parti-
B. I. THE PRINCIPAL SEAT OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 41
cttlar lusts are but rivulets running from it, which bring forth chap.
into the life a part only, and not the whole of what is within.
33. "Now the fountain is still above the streams ; so, where
the water is good, it is best in the fountain ; where it is ill, it is
worst there. The corruption of nature being that which defiles
all, itself must needs be the most abominable thing.
34. " It is virtually all sin, for it is the seed of all sins, which
want but the occasion to set up their heads, being in the cor-
ruption of nature, as the effect in the virtue of its cause. It is
the cursed ground fit to bring forth all manner of noxious
weeds.
35. "As the whole nest of venomous creatures must be more
dreadful than any few of them that come creeping forth, so the
sin of thy nature, that mother of abominations, must be worse
than any particular lusts that appear stirring in thy heart and life.
36. Look thou into thy corrupt nature, and there thou mayest
see all and every sin in the seed and root thereof. There is a
fullness of all unrighteousness. There is atheism, idolatry,
blasphemy, murder, adultery, and whatsoever is vile. The sin
of our nature is of all sins the most fixed and abiding : it remains
with men in its full power by night and by day, at all times,
fixed as with bands of iron and brass.
37. " Pride, envy, covetousness, and the like, are not always
stirring in thee. But the proud, envious, carnal nature is still
with thee ; even as the clock that is wrong is not always striking
wrong, but the wrong set continues with it. It is the great
reigning sin, (like Saul among the people,) higher by far than
the rest, commonly called one's predominant sin, which never
loseth its superiority over particular lusts, that live and die with
it and by it.
38. "'Surely then, the word should be given against this sin, as
against the king of Israel, ' Fight neither with small nor great
save only with this.' For" (as the writer justly concludes)
" while it stands entire there is no victory."
42 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD WORLD. B. I.
CHAPTER IX.
THE CAUSE OP THE DESTRUCTION OP THE OLD WORLD.
chap, ix An account of the destruction of the old world is very particu-
" larly stated in the sacred writings ; from whence also the cause
may be very clearly understood.
Gen. vi. i, *>. " And it came to pass, when men began to multiply," that
2- is, according to the agreeable sense of modern divines, so called,
when men began to fulfil the command or ordinance of God, Be
fruitful, "and daughters were born unto them, that the sons
of God " (who had not been corrupted by a mixed generation)
"saw the daughters of men, that they ivere fair; and they took
them wives of all ivhich they chose." For the daughters of men
were under no control, either to the law of nature or of God, for
their first mother had violated both.
3. And as the first deceived woman, " saiu that the tree was
Gen.iii.c. g00(i for food, and that it was pleasant to the eye;" so these
sons of God, " saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; "
and according to their own corrupt will, they took them wives,
chap.vi.2, not of some particular tribe or family, but " of all which they
6> 8> 13- chose, and went in unto them, and they bare them children ; the
same became mighty men, ivhich were of old, men of renown."
4. " And the earth was corrupt before God, and filled with
violence through them, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon
the earth. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually; "that is, he was absolutely
governed by evil propensities." And it repented the Lord that
he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created."
5. " But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And God
said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me ; for the
earth is filled with violence through them; and behold I will
destroy them with the earth."
6. Then as there must be an evident distinction between the
works of these mighty men of renown, who corrupted the earth
and filled it with violence, and the works of Noah, who found
grace in the eyes of the Lord; it may be proper to observe
wherein that distinction lay.
7. The old natural creation was, from the beginning, set in
order to subserve the purpose of God, in relation to a new and
spiritual creation ; and the old was to continue no longer than to
subserve that purpose. The state of man on this earth was by
B.I.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD WORLD.
43
Acts, xvii
-20, 27.
no means to be his final state. Man was created from the begin- chap, ix.
ning, for a more glorious and eternal purpose.
8. And therefore a line was drawn, from the beginning, of the
old Creation, to the beginning of the new ; which, for the time
then present, pointed out two manners of people, and, in things
of a temporal nature, distinguished between the disobedient and
obedient, the wicked and the righteous ; showing the nature of
that creation which must finally pass away, and of that which
would be eternal.
9. This line may properly be called, a line of promise, per-
taining to such as were counted righteous or perfect in their
generations, and through whom, as pertaining to the flesh, Jesus
Christ came.
10. And in this line were exhibited promises, types, and figures,
which pointed to the spirit and substance of the new creation ;
at least, to the adjusting or setting in order a new age or
spiritual seed, of which Christ Jesus was, in the fulness of time,
the true and real beginning.
11. But, until Christ appeared, there could be no real differ-
ence in the nature and disposition of any. For of " one blood,
were made all nations of men, io divell on all the face of the
earth, and God determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek the Lord,, if
haply they might feel after him and find him, though he be not
far from every one of us."
12. Then, as all nations of men, on the face of the whole
earth, were made of one blood, that they might seek the Lord
and find him, it is evident that in their natural state there is no
difference ; they are all equally out of the way, and equally
distant from God.
13. To speak plainly : in their natural state, there was no
difference between Cain and Abel ; both were conceived in the
same corrupt nature of opposition to God, and both descended
from the same parents who had corrupted their blood, and basely
violated the law of nature, by their obedience to the serpent.
14. In their natural state, and in their conception and birth,
there was no difference between Noah, and those who were
destroyed by the flood ; between Abraham, and his father's
house ; between Lot, and the men of Sodom ; between Moses,
and Pharaoh ; between the Israelites, and Canaanites.
15. All nations of men were of one Mood, and that was cor-
rupted by the fall; nor could it be cleansed until the times
determined were accomplished. As it is written, " J tvill cleanse
their blood that I have not cleansed." And again, " I will call
them my people, which were not my people."
16. But here was the difference, in all ages. While the
generality of the world gave
Joel, iii. 21.
Rom. ix.
25.
themselves up to luxury and
44
THE DESTRUCTION OF TIIE OLD WORLD.
B.I.
criAP.ix.
Ileb. i. 1.
Dem.
xxxii. 32.
Isa. i. 10.
Jer. xxiii.
14.
Heb. xi. 7.
2 Pet. ii. 5-
9.
Jude, 11.
Gen. vi. 9.
10.
chap. x. 1.
XL 10.
chap. ix. 1,
C.
sensuality, and according to the deceitful law in their members,
were corrupting themselves through the lust of uncleanness, and
filling the earth with violence, through ambition and the love
of dominion; there were those who, in order to subserve his
wise purpose, and keep up the distinction between good and
evil, were chosen to maintain the belief of one true God, until the
true foundation of final and eternal redemption should be laid.
17. Therefore, God " at sundry times and in divers manners"
delivered special commands and ordinances to certain individuals,
which related to their temporal economy, and were productive
of temporal good to such as were thereunto obedient. And such
as were obedient to whatever was, in any way or manner, or at any
time, revealed to -them in this respect, were, in every age, a
repository for the faith and worship of " the living and true God."
18. And by their obedience they found justification according
to the nature of what they were taught ; by which they condemned
the world, who lived in corruption and injustice. These became
heirs of that righteousness which is by faith and obedience ;
while the wicked and rebellious were ever counted as the seed of
Cain, and as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, whether
Jews or Gentiles.
19. According to the scriptures, the difference between the
works of Noah, and of those who corrupted the earth, was just
this : Noah was five hundred years old, before he begat his three
sons ; which was not till twenty years after he was called to
preach repentance to the world.
20. This particularly shows the time and manner of Noah's
life, in regard to the works of the flesh. And his walking in
obedience to what he was commanded, shows that what he did
was by special order from God. As it is written, " Noah was a
just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked
with God. And Noah begat three sons."
21. He was " perfect in his generations." His generations
were, " Sliem, Ham, and Japheth." And unto them were sons
born after the flood, but not before, nor even then did they
attempt to multiply until they were, at least, permitted so to do.
22. " And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them,
Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth." Also the
Lord said : " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his
blood be shed : for in the image of God made he man." But
how soon after they again corrupted the earth, and filled it with
violence, till the cry of their sins reached up to heaven, is
another thing.
23. Noah was obedient to the law of Revelation, which is
positive, whether mediate or immediate ; * whether given to an
* Mediate revelation, is that which is given through one to another, such as was
given through Moses to the nation of the Jews. Ex. iii. 1 5 — 18. And such was the
B. I. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD AVORLD. 45
individual only, or through an individual to a nation ; and is to chap, ix.
be obeyed precisely according to the directions of the Lawgiver,
by those unto whom it is given, and is binding on no other
nation, people or individual under heaven.
24. The revelation which God gave to Noah was immediate.
" The end of all flesh is come before me ; for the earth is filled G4en-T1-13,
with violence through them : and behold, I will destroy them
with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood, &c. Thus
did Noah according to all that God commanded him, so did
he."
25. "And the Lord said unto Noah, Thee have I found chap.™. 1.
righteous before me in this generation." And in all this, both
with regard to the law of nature and revelation, was Noah
pointedly distinguished from the mighty men of renown, who
regarded neither the law of nature nor revelation, but took chap. tL l,
"24
them ivives of all which they chose, and came in unto the
daughters of men, and they bare children to them: which is
the primary sin that is charged upon the old world, in the sacred
writings.
26. And this they did, not by any command or direction from
God, but according to their own lusts of uncleanness, through
which they corrupted the earth. This was the root of their
wickedness, and the source of all their depravity, and from
which, as from an overflowing fountain of corruption, they filled
the earth with violence, tyranny, and oppression.
27. It is therefore justly observed by Osterwald: "The first ch. Theo.
and principal sin, which introduced that general depravity ; was p'
impure lust. Murder and injustice were other sins which they
were guilty of. Concerning this, let Josephus* be consulted. *b. LCh.
Since impure lusts and fraud carry along with them innumerable
vices, it is easy to conceive how great the perversity of men
must have been in those times."
28. The expressions of Robinson, concerning the revolutions Ecciesias-
of the earth, are to the purpose : " How wonderfully wise is the Sea'rches,~p.
construction of this world ! How instructive the history of the 139-
rise and the ruin of great empires ! Many are the opinions of
learned men on the origin of civil society.
29. " If this subject be investigated, as it ought to be, in true
historical facts, it will appear very probable that it originated
with bad men, who being strong, subdued the weak for the sake
of living idly on the plunder.
30. " Cain, stained with his brother's blood, was the first who
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him ; and he sent and signified it
by his angel unto his servant John. And John to the seven churches of Asia.
Rev. i. 1 — 4. Immediate revelation is such as was given to Abraham, "Sarah
thy wife, shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I
will establish my covenant with him, and with his seed after him." Gen. xvii. 19.
46
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD WORLD.
B. I.
CHAP. IX.
Eccl. Re.
p 140.
1. Pet. iii.
20.
Hist, of Re-
demp. p.
104. Note
Gen. chap.
vi.
2 Pet. ii. 5.
Mat. xxiv.
38, 39.
built a city. Tlie mighty men before tbe flood were tyrants,
oppressors, thieves, and robbers, who filled the earth with
violence."
31. And after the flood, " Nimrod, as his name implies, was
an insolent captain of a band of robbers ; and most nations
make their first appearance as a banditti, sallying out under a
leader, to pillage and destroy.
32. "Abraham and the patriarchs affected no empire, but
were strangers in a strange land, confederating with one another
for purposes of piety, and with their neighbors for their own
defence."
33. Besides the corruptions, tyranny, and oppression of the
mighty men before the flood, they were disobedient to the preach-
ing of righteous Noah, when the long suffering of God waited
for them to repent, while the ark was preparing. As also says
a modern writer: "One hundred and twenty years had the
divine patience waited — one hundred and twenty years had the
holy prophet warned that perverse generation ; but in vain."
34. Here was the reason why God preserved Noah by his
mercy. He feared God ; he was righteous in his generation ;
according to all that God commanded him, so did he. And, as
the Lord found the fruits of righteousness in Noah, so Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And therefore the justice
of God "spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth
person, and brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, and
destroyed them all."
35. And hence the solemn warning of Christ: " For as in
the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drink-
ing, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark, and knew not till the flood came and took
them all away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
B. I. THE CALL OF GOD TO ABRAHAM. 47
CHAPTER X.
THE CALL OF GOD TO ABRAHAM, WHAT IT SIGNIFIED.
God destroyed the world of the ungodly out of the earth by a chap.x.
flood of water ; but the flood of water did not destroy the root
of ungodliness out of the heart of man.
2. Every imagination and purpose of man's heart, after the Gen. vii.
flood as before, was evil, (that is, it was corrupted,) and that
continually, from his youth ; through which the earth was soon
again corrupted, and filled with idolatry and wickedness ; and
the crv of their sin became grievous before God.
8. This is evident from the sin of Sodom. And the wicked- xyiii. 20.
ness of the nations was still increasing, as it was said of them xv.'i£'
after the calling of Abraham, "The iniquity of the Ainorites is
not yet full."
4. Hence the observation of Edwards : " So prone is the cor- Hist.ofRe-
rupt heart of -man to depart from God, and sink into the depths lj?,™p' p
of wickedness ; and so prone to darkness, delusion, and error,
that the world, soon after the flood, fell into gross idolatry ; so
that before Abraham, the distemper was become almost univer-
sal. The earth was become very corrupt at the time of the
building of Babel."
5. Which is well expressed in the words of Esdras: "That lEsdras.
when they that dwelt on the earth began to multiply, they began ^ 12' 31"
again to be more ungodly than the first. For the first Adam
bearing a wicked heart, transgressed, and was overcome ; and so
be all they that are born of him. Thus infirmity was made per-
manent ; and the law (also) in the heart of the people with the
malignity of the root ; so that the good departed away, and the
evil abode still."
6. And what is still more, the very line of the patriarchs,
through whom Jesus Christ, " according to the flesh," descended,
was corrupted with idolatry before Abraham was called from
among them.
7. This is evident from the words of Joshua to the children
of Israel: "Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood Josh.xxiv.
[Jordan] in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and
the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.'1
8. While the generality of the world were thus perpetually
sinking into idolatry and wickedness, God in his wisdom, from
time to time, separated from among them such as were willing
to maintain the faith and worship of the one only living and true
48 THE CALL OF GOD TO ABRAHAM. B. I.
CIIAP- x O-od. These, for benevolent purposes, were called to stand as
witnesses of the truth, until the true seed of promise should
appear, and accomplish the work of final redemption.
Gen. xii. l- 9- And therefore it was that God said unto Abraham, " Get
3- thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee; and I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy
name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them
that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee : and in thee
shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
Rom. iv. 10. And Abraham obeyed God ; and, as an example of that
faith and obedience, through which all the families of the earth
should be blessed, he left his country, his kindred, and his father's
Heb. xi. s. ]10use, an(j went out iy faiths not knowing whither he went.
Jas.ii.so- And in °hedience t0 his faith he was justified; and by works
24. was faith made perfect .
Gen, xiii. 11- Again the Lord said unto. Abraham, " Lift up now thine
14,15,16. eyeS) anci look from tae pjace where thou art; for all the land
which thou seest, to thee will 1 give it, and to thy seed forever.
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth,'''' for number,
chap. xv. 12. Again the Lord said unto Abraham: "Look now towards
5>6- heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: so
shall thy seed be." And he believed in the Lord; and his
faith was counted to him for righteousness,
chap. xvi. 13. But before the time of the promise came for the one to
2' >12" be begotten, in whom the true spiritual seed should be called,
Sarah, Abraham's helper, deceived him, and gave him her hand-
maid Hagar, who was a bond woman.
14. " And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived." And
the angel of the Lord said of him that was thus conceived, " He
will be a wild man: his hand will be against every man, and
every man's hand against him." Thus was Abraham deceived
through Sarah, as Adam was deceived through Eve.
15. For although God had expressly said to Abraham, that
Gen.xh.4. « He that shall come forth out of thine own bov-els shall be
thine heir," yet no fleshly or carnal gratification could fulfil the
promise (not even in a figure) concerning a spiritual seed, in
whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed.
Gen.xxi. 10. And truly this first born was his heir, and properly his
Rom. ix. 4. seed' after the covenant of the flesh, as all his natural posterity
John,™, were through Isaac, of whom Christ said, " i" know that ye
are Abraham' 's seed." These descended in the line of promise.
17. But in reality, the second-horn as well as the first-born
of Abraham were both one seed, and in a natural sense there
was no difference between the posterity of Ishmael and Isaac :
both were, strictly speaking, the seed of Abraham.
18. But as it respected the promise which God made to
E.I.
THE CALL OF GOD TO ABRAHAM.
49
CHAP. X.
Gal. iv. 24.
1 Cor. xv.
46.
Gen iii. 15.
Gen. xvii.
5,0.
Abraham, the order and manner of their birth, and other con-
comitant circumstances, it served as an allegory, or figure, by
which to represent the difference between the old and new
creation.
19. In the order of God's work, in the creation and redemp-
tion of man, " that was not first which is spiritual, but that
which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual." So in
regard to the allegory which represents both the natural and
•spiritual seed.
20. The first covenant that God made with man was a natural
covenant. This was broken at the fountain-head, which was
man's fall from his first rectitude.
21. But a promise followed : '■'■The seed of the woman shall
bruise the serpent' 's head ;" which intimated a recovery. Yet
this promise was not to be fulfilled according to the order of the
first, or old covenant, but according to a new covenant. And to
signify the state of the old creation under the first covenant,
Abraham, through the influence of Sarah, begat a son by a bond
woman, which is counted his seed after the flesh.
22. Then, after this, concerning another seed, God said unto
Abram, " Thy name shall be called Abraham : (i. e. the father
of a multitude-,) for a father of many nations have I made thee;
and kings shall come out of thee." And of Sarai he said,
" Sarah (i. e. the princess of a multitude) shall her name be;
and she shall be a mother of nations ; kings of people shall be
of her,''''
23. The first promise was made to Abraham many years
before the true heir could be born in whom his seed should be
called. But at the time appointed it was expressly said, "J will
certainly return unto thee according to the time of life ; and
lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son."
24. Yet, to show plainly that the true seed could not be
begotten after the will of the flesh, Abraham and Sarah ivere
old, when the time for the fulfilling of the promise came, " and
it ceased to be with Sarah after the maimer of women. And
the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.'1''
25. When nature in her had finished its course, and the mere
desire of carnal gratification could claim no share in the promise ;
then it was " through faith that Sarah received strength to con- Heb. xi. u
ceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age."
26. "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons; the one
by a bond maid, the other by a free woman. But he who was
of the bond woman was born after the flesh ; but he of the free
woman teas by promise. Which things are an allegory: for
these are the two covenants.'1'' The first answering to the old
covenant of the flesh, or old creation, which gendereth to bond-
age ; the second, to the new covenant or new creation, which is free.
chap, xviii.
10.
Gen. xviii.
11, & xxi.
1.
Gal. iv. 22.
23, 24.
50 THE CALL OP GOD TO ABRAHAM. B. I.
chap, x. 27. All the natural posterity of fallen Adam are, by nature
and birth, strangers and aliens to God, and are the children of
the bond woman, being servants to sin.
Gen. xxi. 28. The seed of Hagar (i. e. a stranger) was cast out of the
xxv 6 * inheritance ; also, all the rest of the seed of Abraham, except
Isaac, were sent away with small gifts, that might serve for the
present.
29. In this was prefigured the state and portion of all the
natural seed or posterity of man born after the flesh, both before
and after the true seed appeared. Abraham gave all that he
had unto Isaac. But the bond woman, who was given to be
his wife, and her son, were sent away with bread and water ;
which was a figure of the best portion possessed by the children
of this world.
80. There was another heir, born of a free woman, who claimed
the inheritance by promise — another birthright. " That which
John, iii. g. is bom of the flesh is flesh ; marvel not that I say unto you,
ye must be bom again.''''
31. And, to show wherein the new creation of God should
Gen. xvii. take place, Abraham received the seal of circumcision, as a
24 n' 2'3' token of the new covenant, which was an outward cutting off the
foreskin of the flesh.
32. But, why was he commanded to receive a, token of the
covenant particularly there ? Why did he not receive it else-
where ? The truth is, that token was of special signification, and
pointed directly to the very seat of sin ; there lay concealed the
hidden mystery of human depravity — the secret pleasure of that
Lu.xvi. is. which is most highly esteemed of all men in their natural and
fallen state.
33. And this outward token of circumcision, signified the cut-
ting off that fleshly and carnal pleasure, taken through that part,
Col. ii. n. by the circumcision of Christ in the heart, made without hands,
in all the true heirs of that new covenant.
34. The real substance of the covenant which God made with
Abraham, was neither to him, nor to natural Isaac, nor to
Isaac's natural posterity ; this is plain from the tenor of it.
Gen xvii. 35. " My covenant will I establish with Isaac, for an ever-
xxM-' lasting covenant, and with his seed after him." Again : " In
Rom ix. 7, Isaac shall thy seed be called.'''1 And again: " Neither because
they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children : but in
Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the
children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but
the children of the promise are counted for the seed."
Gal. in. lc. 36. " He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ." And alluding to that seed,
he said, " J will establish my covenant with him for an ever-
lasting covenant, and with his seed after him.'1'' The covenant
8.
3. I.
THE CALL OF GOD TO ABRAHAM.
51
John, xiv.
20.
is therefore with Christ for an everlasting covenant, and with his chap, x.
spiritual seed who are in him. As Jesus Christ said, " Ye shall
know that I am in nay father, and ye in me, and I you."
37. Then consider what was further signified by the token of
the everlasting covenant made with Abraham. He whose flesh
of his foreSiiin was not circumcised, " that soul (saith God) shall Gen.xvii
be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant."
Which signified, that he who is not circumcised in heart, with the
circumcision made without hands, the same hath broken God's
everlasting covenants, and while remaining uncircumcised, is cut
off from Christ, and from the inheritance of everlasting life.
38. Then, from what has been said, it may appear evident,
that the covenant which God made with Abraham, was only
temporary, and pointed to an everlasting covenant, or spiritual
seed yet future. Therefore this temporary covenant did not save
those who kept it from the indwelling root and nature of sin,
received by the fall ; but pointedly prefigured what would save
them when the true seed should appear.
39. Nevertheless, as many as were obedient to the outward
sign of that covenant, and to whatever else pertained thereunto,
obtained temporal blessings, possessed the gates of their enemies,
multiplied exceedingly, and in all outward things were blessed,
while their obedience continued, and were also blest with
spiritual gifts according to the order of that dispensation.
40. But when the true first-born of the promise appeared ;
neither outward circumcision availed any thing, nor uncircum-
cision, but a new creature.
41. The land of Canaan was only a temporal blessing to
Abraham's seed ; it was not heaven itself ; and therefore the
highest place it could have in the covenant of promise, was a
shadow of better and more durable things to come.
42. Abraham's natural posterity were no better than the rest
of mankind ; only as they were obedient to the revelation of
God, made known from time to time, they maintained and pre-
served the faith of the one true God, and served as a figure of
that seed who should possess a spiritual and everlasting kingdom.
43. And, although they were comparatively, according to the
literal sense of the promise, as the stars of the sky for multitude,
and as the sand by the sea shore innumerable ; yet it is expressly
said, " These all died in faith, not having received the promises ;
but having seen them afar off, a?id were persuaded of them,
and embraced them, and confessed that they xoere strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.'''1
44. They honestly confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims, as much in the land of promise as elsewhere, and there-
by declared plainly that they sought another country, and had
not received the substance of the thing promised.
Rom. ii. 29,
29.
Gal. vi 15.
Heb. xi.
13. 3U.
12
52 THE CALL OF GOD TO ABRAHAM. B. I.
CHAP.X. 45. Therefore it was not the country of Judea, nor the city or
" temple, whose builder and maker was David and Solomon, which
Rcv.xxi.2. they looked for; but that city and temple, made without hands,
which God promised to build in the latter days, of which Christ
Jesus was the chief corner stone.
46. But as a figure of the oppression and bondage, under
which the heirs of the true seed of promise would be held, before
the time of real deliverance should come, the seed of Abraham
i;i-i'c;IV were led into Egypt, and kept under tyranny and oppression, for
a certain limited time, before their temporal and outward deliver-
ance could be accomplished.
47. And, as they were to increase, and did increase, accord-
ing to the purpose of God, it could not escape the notice of an
Ex. i. 16 oppressive government ; whose policy it was to destroy all the
22- males, who, according to the command of God, were to receive
the token of that covenant which promised a seed as the stars for
multitude. No matter about the females !
l Cor. i. 25. 48. But however wise in their plans, " the foolishness of God is
wiser than ■men''' for He through a woman of the house of Levi,
began, according to promise, to redeem his people from the cruel
power and policy of Egypt, until he had parted the sea, and
destroyed the nations before them.
49. Great is the mystery of God's dealings with men ! The
&c.'U' 3' power and wisdom of God was manifested thus through one, who,
by a woman, was preserved in an ark of bulrushes ! A type or
true figure of the final deliverance of the Isarel of God through
the woman.
THE TESTIMONY
OF
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I,
THE FIGURATIVE IMPORT OF THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION.
The express purpose of the Law, was to search .out and condemn chap. i.
sin, root and branch. " For until the law sin was in the world;
and death by sin reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them Rom. v. 13,
that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgres- u-
sion, who is the figure of him that was to come." That is, of
Christ Jesus, through whom salvation should be obtained.
2. "By the law is the knowledge of sin." As it is written, ojj3^^; 7
"J had not known sin but by the law: for I had not known Rom vii. 7.
lust, except the laio had said, Thou shalt not covet, or lust.'''' tl^'oa^'
3. And, although the Law went to search out and condemn sin, Concupis-
yet it could not save the soul from its reigning power, until Last.6
Christ Jesus, the first born in the work of Redemption should
appear. And therefore the law was "added because of trans- nai.iii.j9.
gressions," that the " offence might abound " till the seed should xOW" v' ~°
come to whom the promise was made.
4. It is impossible for souls ever to find a full salvation, with-
out a full discovery of their loss. In vain is freedom sought for
in any government, where the very seat and centre of action in
the government itself, is established in tyranny and oppression,
by the consent of the people.
5. In vain is every attempt to change the nature of an evil
tree, by lopping off the branches, while the body and root of the
tree remain whole ; or by any means ever to expect good fruit
from a corrupt tree ; so in vain are pure waters expected from a
corrupt fountain.
G. " Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water Jas. iii. 11,
and bitter ? Can the fie; tree bear olive berries ? either a vine
54
THE FIGURATIVE IMPORT OP
B. II.
CHAP. I.
Mat. vii.
16-18.
Gal. v. 22.
Mark, xii.
2D-31.
Gal.iii. 24.
Deut.
xxxii. 5.
Isa. i. 4.
Jer. li. 21.
vi. 28.
Lev. xx.
22.
Deut. vi.
17.
xviii. 9.
Lev. xx.
15, 16, 10.
Deut. xxii.
21-24.
Lev. xx.
14.
xxi. 9.
figs ? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." " Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? even so every
good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth
forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
7. "The fruit of the Spirit is love ; " pure and perfect love.
"The first of all the commandments is, Hear, 0 Israel! the
Lord our God is one Lord : And thou shaft love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength."
8. " And the second is like unto it : Thou shall love thy
neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater
than these." This comprehended the spirit and real intention of
the whole Law, and was all that God required.
9. But man in his natural and fallen state, is held under the
dominion of other objects. And as the law was added because
of transgressions, that the offence might abound, and was given
to the Israelites as a schoolmaster, to teach them the nature and
purity of the promised Messiah's kingdom, it was necessary to
point out particularly what kind of fruit this spirit of love would
naturally produce, and what would as naturally flow from the
want of it.
10. The tree is known by its fruit. Then, if man was the
uncorrupted fruit, or offspring of pure and perfect love, he cer-
tainly would discover no other fruit in all his life and actions.
But both the law of Moses, and the Prophets, plainly discovered
that the tree and the fruit are both corrupt, or in other words,
that man in his fallen state is a corrupt creature, and descended
from a corrupted and degenerate stock.
11. This was going to the root of the matter. It was more
than cutting off as a type, or teaching how the Messiah should lop
off the_ outside branches of a corrupt tree. The root of human
depravity is laid naked and open to view, in plain words, written
on tables of stone, and delivered by the special command of God.
12. And not only so, but with repeated and solemn injunc-
tions: "Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my
judgments, and do them ; that the land, whither I bring you to
dwell therein, spue you not out ; thou shalt not learn to°do after
the abominations of those nations."
13. The law pointedly condemned every fleshly gratification ;
such as lying with a beast, lying with another's wife, &c, defi-
ling an unmarried virgin, &c, and, in many cases, it punished
such with death.
14. Stoning to death was the penalty for such like abomina-
tions. And if a man took a wife and her mother, or if the
daughter of any priest committed whoredom, such were to be
burnt with fire.
B. II. THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 55
15. Idolatry, giving seed to Moloch, witchcraft, blasphemy, chap. L
murder, disobedience to parents, &c, were condemned by the Deutxvii.
Law as evil ; the spirit of the Law was therefore holy, just and lJv
good, condemning nothing but sin. 2, 27.
16. Yet, however severe the punishments that were inflicted i~.lv' 15'
for sin, they only lopped off the branches of a corrupt tree, while Deut- *xi.
the root and foundation of all the abominations that were com-
mitted in the earth, remained unchanged.
17. But, when the law proceeded to take cognizance of the
very nature of man, and condemned that as sinful and unclean,
which might have been supposed to be lawful and right, then the
fountain of evil began to be uncovered.
18. Observe : " The law is not made for a righteous man, but 1 Tim. i. 9.
for the lawless and disobedient ; for the ungodly and for sinners." 10-
The spirit of the law was, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and thy neighbor as
thyself."
19. When, therefore, any punishment or penalty was inflicted,
it is evident that it was for the transgression of the Law, and
that the true end and design of the Law had not been answered
in that particular thing.
20. The law not only prohibited all carnal and abominable
intercourse between man and beast, upon pain of death ; but the
sexes were wholly prohibited from cohabiting, on pain of being
excommunicated, for a time, from the congregation of such as
were accounted clean.
21. And, as this statute respected the only motive and man-
ner in which a man and woman were tolerated to cohabit, it
sufficiently showed that the very order of nature was corrupted,
and that it could never enter that new creation, of which it is
said, " There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth." 27*;v' XX1'
22. There was no possible ease, in which a man and woman v„_ ■
could lie together, in the work of the flesh, and hold their union 20,22
with the congregation within the camp of Israel. The very act ]oe li.**1"'
cut them off, and separated them from the camp. Nor could they ^.um- *»•
be again accepted until they were cleansed ; for nothing unclean xili. 13.
could abide in the camp.
23. And, lest the serpent should try to cover his head under *fv;0xv-
a cloak, by some false gloss upon the generative act, every act xx'ii. i-e.
of the flesh, even for procreation, was pronounced unclean.
24. And, concerning the act of sexual connexion, the law said Lev. xv.
" The women also with whom man shall lie, in the works of the 1S-
flesh, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean
until the even.'''' This was going at once to the groundwork of
man's depravity.
25. And that something more than uncleanness accompanied Lev. xii.
the generative act, according to the flesh, is evident from the 2~7'
56
THE FIGURATIVE IMPORT OP
B. II
CHAP. I.
Lev. ii 13.
Mai. iii. 2,
3.
Lu. xii 49.
Eph. vl. 17.
Mark. IX.
49. 50.
Gen xviii.
6, 9.
xxiv. 67.
xxxi. 33.
Ex xix 10,
15.
Psalms,
xxxvii. 3,
7, & li 2. 5.
John. iii. G.
viii. 44.
1 Cor. xv.
50.
Jos. i. 15.
statute respecting women after child-bearing, by which they also
fell under the penalty of excommunication.
26. The woman who brought forth a man-child, was unclean
seven days, according to the days of her separation for her
infirmity ; and thenceforth to continue in the blood of her purify-
ing three and thirty days, and to touch no hallowed thing, nor
come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying were
fulfilled, which were forty days and eighty days ; separation, if
she brought forth a female.
27. And, in order to be restored, she was required to bring a
burnt offering, and a sin offering, to make an atonement ; a sin
offering unto the Lord made by fire. And with all their offer-
ings they were commanded to offer salt.
28. The whole of which was nothing short of signifying, in the
most pointed manner, that all such carnal and fleshly things as
were contrary to the pure nature of God, should be kept at a
distance from the true seed of promise, and be finally offered up
and consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, which is the incor-
ruptible word of God, and the salt of the earth in the children
of the regeneration, and the new birth.
29. If therefore, this conception-sin, and this birth-sin be
overlooked, and made something contrary to what God hath sig-
nified it to be, it is in vain to look any further for a distinction
between good and evil; seeing that " by the law is the know-
ledge of sin."
30. The patriarchs did not overlook it, when they held their
separate tents. Moses did not overlook it, when by the com-
mand of God from Mount Sinai, he solemnly charged the people,
saying, " Come not. at your wives." If something there had not
been offensive to God, why was this charge ?
31. God did not overlook this as inoffensive, when he com-
manded that a woman should " not touch any holy thing, nor
come into the sanctuary of the congregation, for the space of
forty, or even eighty days;" aud when he commanded that she
should "bring a burnt offering, and a sin offering, to make an
atonement."
32. David did not overlook it, when he said, "There is no
rest in my bones because of my sin. My loins are filled with a
loathsome disease. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me."
33. Jesus did not overlook it when he said, "That which is
born of the flesh is flesh ; " and, " The lusts of your father ye will
do." Nor did Paul, when he said, "Flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit in-
corruption." Nor did James, when he said, "When lust hath
conceived it bringeth forth sin."
B. II. THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 57
34. It is vritten of the Lord God, that "his work is perfect; CHAP- L
for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth, and without Deut
iniquity, just and right is he." ***"■ 4-
85. And if so, will the God of perfect justice, judgment, and
truth, do that which is contrary to his own nature and attributes ?
Will he inflict punishment without a cause ? or grieve willingly
the children of men? Will he count that unclean, which is not
unclean? or require an offering for sin, where there is no sin?
By no means.
36. Then it is certain, that, where God commanded any one
not to touch anything that was counted holy, there was some-
thing offensive to his Divine nature; and that wherein he re-
quired an offering for sin from any one, there certainly was sin
in that case; either in the whole case, in the nature or motive to
an unclean action, or in the act itself.
37. Therefore, let that which God has accounted both sinful
and unclean, be both sinful and unclean; that God may be just,
and every man a corrupter, until he fulfills the very spirit of the
Law, by loving God supremely; and till no inferior object can
take possession of the highest seat in his affections.
88. Thus the true end and purpose of the law will be answered,
and it will not be said in vain, " The law teas our schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ.'" And, although it be a severe and mor-
tifying schoolmaster to the pride of fallen man, yet it is a true
and faithful one.
39. The Law condemned many things as being either sinful or
unclean, which arose from natural causes, and were figurative of
the heinous nature of sin. Such as the leprosy, which had a
striking reference to the plague of sin ; touching a dead body ;
eating unclean beasts and fowls; and many such like things,
which prefigured the abominations of man, and which were to bo
destroyed under the law of grace, by the Gospel.
5S
THE LAW FULFILLED THROUGH CHRIST. B. II.
CHAPTER II.
THE MOSAIC LAW, WHEREIN IT WAS FULFILLED BY THE LAW
OF GRACE, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
chap. II. "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by
— — Jesus Christ.'" And Christ came not to destroy the law, but to
Ma"v." 17.' fulfil it ; not by observing its external rites and ceremonies ; but
by loving and serving God, as the supreme object of his affec-
tions ; and by teaching the same to others.
2. Then, which of these two requires the greatest purity —
the ceremonial law given by Moses ? or the law of grace and
truth, which came by Jesus Christ? Undoubtedly the latter, it
must be granted.
3. Therefore, let those who disregard the law, because they
imagine they are under grace, at least be careful to examine their
fruits, or works, by the law of grace. For "faith without
'uom.'iU-J. works is dead;" and, "as many as sin without law shall also
perish without, law."
4. And further : Let such as imagine they are under grace,
at least regard that superior reason and dignity, by which God
hath exalted man above the order of the brutes ; and not defile
themselves, nor gratify the inclinations of a corrupt and inferior
nature, with any woman, after she hath conceived seed.
5. And besides, after nine months, according to the common
time of pregnancy, let the same restriction be continued, for the
space of eighty days longer, according to the time which God
prescribed to Israel.
6. And finally, let such as imagine that they are free from the
Law, and under grace, never gratify the sensual and fleshly
appetites of their corrupt animal nature, at any time or season,
nor in any manner whatever, except with the sole motive to
honor and glorify God, and to propagate an offspring.
7. Then they may understand how much grace and truth lies
at the bottom ! But, if they fail in the attempt, they may under-
stand why kings and prophets desired to see the days of the Son
of man.
8. It was not because they expected Christ to come, with some
extraordinary grace, to daub over their secret corruptions, that
they might live in them with impunity; but on the contrary,
they looked for a day of full redemption from that predominant
nature of evil, root and branch, to which they were held in
bondage.
B. II.
THE LAW FULFILLED THROUGH CHRIST.
59
9. But in vain will the fatal wound of man's depravity be
covered over by the superficial ornaments of an empty profes-
sion of grace, when "God shall bring every work into judgment,
ivith every secret thing."
10. In vain will souls groan for deliverance from the bondage
of sin, till they drop into eternity, while, by some plausible
reasonings to enjoy a momentary pleasure, they willingly conceal
the very core of their corruptions.
11. It was nothing short of supreme and perfect love to God,
that could ever order and regulate the actions of man so as to
render them well pleasing to Him; and therefore, where any
action was condemned, or any atonement required, it proved that
the nature from which the action proceeded was evil.
12. And, until that which was the spring or cause of the evil
was removed, the same evil action would be repeated ; for the
effect is like its cause, and the same cause must continue to pro-
duce the same effect.
13. And hence came those perpetual offerings and burnt
offerings for fin, in ivhich God had no pleasure; but they were
added that the offence of sin might abound, until the cause should
be removed by Christ the true seed, in whom only, the promise
of final redemption was made.
14. Therefore the design of the ceremonial law, was not to
fulfil the real law of God, but to point out the way in which it
should be fulfilled: first, by discovering that object which stands
in competition with God, and engrosses the highest affections of
man ; and then to have that object taken out the way. And
until that was done, the soul could never be free from bondage
and captivity to sin.
15. In every respect, the Law given by Moses, went to search
out the root of man's depravity. Many things pertaining to the
same nature, besides those that were actual, all fleshly emotions,
sensations and desires, and all issues, voluntary or involuntary,
which are the product of the fleshly nature, were counted unclean,
and were to be expiated according to the statutes of the Law.
16. The voluntary, and unnatural crime of self pollution, was
ever an abomination in the sight of God ; and so was also that
of defiling themselves with their own sex.
17. So that the strictest ceremonies of the law, were neither
more nor less, than to show, that the very root and fountain of
man's nature, in his fallen state, was corrupt before God, and
offensive to his pure nature.
18. Thus the Law, not only distinguished between good and
evil actions, but searched out the cause, and the different motives,
from which actions proceeded. And it discovered the root of all
evil to be in the very nature, in which man was begotten.
19. For, while the spirit of the law required perfect love to
chap. n.
Ecc.xii.14.
See Mat.
xxiii 27.
Heb. x. 5,
G.
Lev. chap,
xv.
Gen.
xxxviii.
7-10.
Rom. i. 26,
27.
ITim.i. 10.
60
THE LAW FULFILLED THROUGH CHRIST.
B. II.
CHAP. II.
Jer. iii. 9.
Lev. xviii.
xx.
xviii. 27.
ch.ip. xx.
23.
Deut. ix. t
5,6.
Mat. xxii.
39, 40.
the invisible God, as the only justifying motive in the soul of
man, it immediately excluded that inferior instinct, which led
Sodom and Egypt, and the inhabitants of Canaan, to the per-
petration, through lust, of the most horrid and unnatural crimes,
merely for the sake of its own gratification, or the momentary
pleasure which it afforded.
20. Moses plainly demonstrated, that these carnal desires by
which man was begotten in his fallen state, were inconsistent
with perfect love to God, from its motives and actions being
lawless, under no government, and subject to no control.
21. This lawless passion was blind to the law of God, and the
order and law of nature, and was regardless of the objects of its
choice or refusal; so that it moved with freedom to any object
that could afford it the gratification of its own agreeable and
corrupt self ; whether that object was animate or inanimate,
brutal or human. They " committed adultery with stones and
stocks."
22. All this is most strikingly evident from the Law of Moses,
as well as from the Prophets. And after Moses had given a
numerous list of the abominations, which all sprang from one and
the same source of human corruption, he adds, "■For all these
abominations have the men of the land done."
23. And, to show that the natural seed of Abraham had the
same corrupt inclinations of other nations, it is added, '■'■And ye
shall not walk in the 'manners of the nations which I cast out
before you; for they committed all these things, and therefore
I abhorred them.'1''
24. Then, if that propensity of the natural man, was so blind
and lawless, that it would move toward a neighbor's wife, a
sister, a father's wife, a mother, a daughter, a fellow man, a
four-footed beast, a dumb idol, a lifeless stock, or a stone ; could
any thing produced by it, be any better than itself?
25. Here again, we may see, that the true design of the Law,
was to discover the distinction of objects, and the chief motive
from which actions proceeded.
26. As every external object upon which man, in his fallen
state, placed his affections, was more or less offensive to God,
and merited punishment, according to the degree of the offence ;
so the whole Law went pointedly to discover that no motive,
or affection, fixed upon any external object whatever, could
satisfy the real spirit of the Law ; and that nothing could do
it, short of perfect love to God, as the supreme object of man's
affections.
27. And therefore, until the reigning power of that lawless
corruption was taken out of the way, how could the soul love
God supremely, and his neighbor as himself? For " on these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
B. II. THE LAW FULFILLED THROUGH CHRIST. 61
28. Christ Jesus was the first that ever fulfilled the spirit of CHAP- "•
the Law ; and thereby he put an end to all those external rites
and ceremonies, meats and drinks, and divers washings, and
carnal ordinances; and set the example for others to do the
same. Nothing, therefore, but perfect obedience to his com-
mandments, could ever satisfy the demands of the Law.
29. A perfect obedience to the law of Christ, walking in his
very footsteps, traveling in the work of regeneration, and deny-
ing self, and abstaining from every actual and sensual gratifica-
tion, as he did, released every member of his body, from all the
external obligations of those carnal ordinances.
30. As it is written: " Christ is the end of the law for Rom.x.4.
righteousness to every one that bclieveih." Not to such as
believe only; but he became "the author of eternal salvation to Het>. v. ».
all that obey him."
31. Thus far, we have opened, from its true origin, the nature
of man's loss, and the fundamental cause of his depravity and
separation from God, and the design of the Law to search it out,
not superficially, nor in disguise, but faithfully, and with that
plainness which the importance of sacred and solemn truth
demands. It is the truth only that ever will, or ever can, Jno.viii.3a
make souls free.
32. Here we add a few very just observations from a respect-
able writer. They disclose in some measure, a spirit of willingness
and candor to acknowledge and expose the root ot evil ; and on
the contrary, a general principle of disguise to conceal it.
33. " But though these effects of human depravity, ' says the wHb«r-
writer, "are every where acknowledged and lamented, we must Religion,
not expect to find them traced to their true origin. Causa latet, J^- j^
vis est notissima: " i.e. The cause lies concealed, the effect is is.
notorious.
34. "Prepare yourself to hear rather of frailty and infirmity,
of petty transgressions, of occasional failings, of sudden sur-
prisals, and of such other qualifying terms as may serve to keep
out of view the true source of the evil, and may administer con-
solation to the pride of human nature.
35. " Far different is the humiliating language of Christianity.
From it we learn that man is an apostate creature, fallen from
his high original, degraded in his nature, and depraved in his
faculties; that he is tainted with sin. not slightly and super-
ficially, but radically, and to the very core.
36. "These are truths which, however mortifying to our wiiber-
pride, one would think (if this corruption did not warp the judg- j£J£?J}
ment) none would be hardy enough to attempt to controvert. 25, 26.
37. "How, on any principles of common reasoning, can we
account for it, [this corruption] but by conceiving that man,
ince he came out of the hands of the Creator, has contracted a
62 THE LAW FULFILLED THROUGH CHRIST. B. II.
chap. ii. taint, and that the venom of this subtil poison has been com-
municated throughout the race of Adam, every where exhibit-
ing incontestiblc marks of its fatal malignity.
38. " Hence it has arisen, that the appetites deriving new
strength, and the powers of reason and conscience being weak-
ened, the latter have feebly and impotently pleaded against those
fobidden indulgences which the former have solicited.
39. "Sensual gratifications and illicit affections have debased
our nobler powers, and indisposed our hearts to the discovery of
God. I3y a repetition of vicious acts, evil habits have been
formed within us, and have riveted the fetters of sin. All with-
out exception, in a greater or less degree, bear about them, more
visible or more concealed, the ignominious marks of their
captivity.
40. "Such, on a full and fair investigation, must be confessed
to be the state of facts ; and how can this be accounted for on
any other supposition, than that of some original taint, some radical
principle of corruption ? All other solutions are unsatisfactory,
while the potent cause which has been assigned, does abundantly,
and can only sufficiently, account for the effect." So says Wil-
berforce : and that with the greatest reason and truth. Then let
it be so.
41. Upon this subject we will only add, that, although the
ceremonial law was given to discover the root and fountain of all
evil, yet it never did, and never can, remove the cause. And
Heb. x. l- though the law stood only in meats and drinks, and, divers
io. washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed upon the people until
the time of reformation, and could never make the comers there-
unto perfect ; yet it was never intended to be taken out of the
way, or destroyed, without substituting something more excel-
lent and permanent in its place.
Mat. v. is. 42. "For verily I say unto you," saith Jesus Christ, "tiU
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no toise pass
from the law, till all be fulfilled.''''
B. II. THE STATE OF ALL MANKIND, &C. 63
Neh. ix.27.
CHAPTER III.
THE STATE OF ALL MANKIND BEFORE THE FIRST APPEARING
OF CHRIST, BY WHICH SALVATION IS REVEALED.
Salvation is of two kinds: First, to be saved from outward chap. in.
dangers, temporal enemies, and such like, which is properly ■
called salvation : And secondly, to he saved from the practice,
power, and nature of sin. A very different kind of salvation ;
the former being temporal, and the latter spiritual.
2. The Lord saved Noah from the destruction of the old world ;
brought Abraham forth out of Ur, (i.e. the fire) of the Chaldees,
and saved Lot from the overthrow of Sodom.
3. The children of Israel saw the salvation of the Lord at the t „
Red Sea. And the Lord frequently wrought a great salvation 5.
for Israel, in the land of Canaan ; and, from time to time, gave
them saviors, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
4. Yet all this was not salvation from sin ; nor were the
saviors, those who should judge the mount of Esau, when the king- obad.21.
dom should be the Lord's. As sin was in the world until the law
was given, that the offence might abound ; so it remained in the
world until Christ appeared.
5. " For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats Heb. x. 4,
should take away sins.'1'1 Even the high priests were required 11ivii- 27-
to offer sacrifices for their own sins, as well as for the sins of the
people.
6. The Prophets themselves were ignorant of that salvation, ipet.i. 10
and searched diligently to know when it would appear ; unto Hj 12.
whom it was revealed that it was not unto themselves they
ministered the promise, but unto another people, yet to come ;
and they prophesied of him, in whom it should first appear, by zech. ix.9.
the spirit of Christ that was in them. x Pel- '• n-
7. It is remarkable, that, under the covenant of promise,
names and characters were applied to many natural men, which
in reality could be applied to Jesus Christ only.
8. Thus, God said unto Abraham, "I will make of thee a
great nation ; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be
blessed." And of Isaac he said, " I will establish my covenant
with him, for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after
him." The whole of which, in spirit and in substance, applies
to Christ, and not to Abraham and Isaac, nor to their natural
seed. The thing was typical, as has been shown.
9. A.^ain. "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my Ex. iv. 22.
04 THE STATE OP ALL MANKIND B. II.
CHAP. HI. f.rst born." This is also typical, and, in reality applies to none
Col j .- but Christ, and his true seed, who are in him by obedience.
is. 10. And, after the law was given to the Hebrews, "the whole
j"h"' "'- nation," saith Edwards, " by this law, was as it were, constituted
Hist.of in a typical state ; " which is true, as the Scriptures abundantly
pVj7g'.'P' prove.
,,.177. 11. Upon which a certain writer justly remarks, that " Chris-
Noie n. tians have the most unequivocal assertions of this in the New
Testament. The law is called a shadow of good things to conic.
And the whole epistle to the Hebrews, and great part of that to
the Galatians, is written to prove and illustrate this very point."
lb. p. 197. 1". Another writer on a similar occasion, as justly remarks, on
Noiez. typical characters in general, that, "In order to constitute a
proper type, it is by no means necessary, that the person who
answers this important purpose, should possess perfect moral
Hunter's qualities." " That the comparison is not to be stated and pur-
v.Ti. p.5' sued through every particular incident of the life, and every
275. feature of the person typifying."
13. Then, as the line of the patriarchs, and the Law of Moses,
Were only typical of things to come, and were not the very sub-
stance of the thing typified ; let not the shadow of a thing be
mistaken for the substance.
14. The name or figure of a thing spiritual, is as distinct from
the thing itself, as the name or picture of the sun, is distinct from
the sun itself. The high priest of the children of Israel wore a
mitre upon his head, with a plate of pure gold, on which was en-
Kx. xxviu. grave(jj Holiness to the Lord. And of the people it was
Diut.xivr. said, " Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God:'
15. But did this make either the priest or the people holy ?
By no means. The whole nation were sinners, from Moses to
the appearing of Christ, both priest and people : and this their
sacrifices and offerings for sin, year by year continually, prove
beyond all contradiction. And the same also prove, that they
were perpetual transgressors of the moral law, the nature and
requirements of which have been pointed out in the preceding
chapter.
10. It is strictly .true, however, that, while they punctually
observed all the external rites and ordinances of the Law, they
were counted blameless, and were blessed of God, above all other
nations.
17. And in all those blessings, which were the fruits of their
obedience, they verily were typical of what they were called;
A holy and peculiar people; sons and daughters of God; and
many other terms, that might serve as a " shadoiv of good things
to comey All of which is clearly evinced in the New Testa-
ment, particularly in Paul's Epistles to the Hebrews and
llomans.
2.
B. II. BEFORE THE APPEARING OP CHRIST. 65
18. And, when it is said, that Enoch, Noah, and others, chap.hi-
walked with God ; it means nothing more, than that they walked
in obedience to the commands of God, given them in their day.
19. Thus, Noah walked with God in his generation, in build-
ing an ark, &c. ; Abram, in leaving his father's house; Moses,
in bringing up the children of Israel out of Egypt; David was a
man after God's own heart, to fulfil all his will; but all his will
to David, was not all his will to another ; David was a man of
blood, therefore Solomon was chosen to build the temple ; Jehu
was anointed to cut off the house of Ahab ; and Cyrus was the
Lord's anointed to subdue the nations. But not one of them
walked with God under the cross of Christ ; nor were they
anointed with power to save them from their sins.
20. It is true, that the Israelites " drank of that spiritual rock l Cor.x. 4.
that followed them in the wilderness, and that rock was Christ; "
or in other words, it was the same spirit of Christ, that spake by
the Prophets, and testified of his coming.
21. But observe, instead of their following the spirit of Christ
in Moses, that Spirit followed them, and strove with them,
while they remained a stiff-necked and rebellions generation.
" How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve rv<im
him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, '^svllI-40>
and limited the Holy One of Israel." And, " about the time of
forty years, suffered he their manners in the wilderness." So ^!s'X111-
far distant, then, was this typical Israel from being the true
Israel of God, whom they typified.
22. But, when the promised Messiah really came, instead of
following them, he exhorted them to follow him, and testified that
unless they did, they could not be his disciples. And further
said, "If ye believe not that I am he, (that was promised) ye ^"i™1
shall die in your sins."
23. Therefore, it was not faith in a Saviour to come, that ever
saved any people from their sins; nor did a law of types and
shadows ever save any. The very intent, and substance of all
that was typified, and promised to Israel, was salvation from all
sin, by Christ, when he should appear, and not before. Every
thing else, without & full and present salvation from sin, call it
what you please, is nothing but an empty shadow ; and as Paul
justly expresses it, weak and beggarly elements. Gal. iv. 9.
24. Then how mistaken are they who imagine, that God saved
one good man from his sins here, and another there ; and, from
Adam to Christ, doomed all the rest of the innumerable
multitudes of the human race to eternal destruction, while it was
impossible that ever one of them could be really saved, having
no real Saviour. For, by the progressive dispensations of the
work of God, the creation must necessarily be brought to that
maturity, that a vessel of the human race might be prepared, as
GG
THE STATE OF ALL MANKIND
B. II.
Rom. xi.
32.
Gal. lii. 22.
Ueb. v. <J.
chap. in. a medium through whom a Savior could be born into the world,
before a real Savior could be revealed among men.
25. For how then could that scripture be true, which said,
"God hath concluded them all in unbelief 7" And again:
" The scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the •promise
by faith of Jesus Christ might be givc?i to them that believe.''''
Not that did believe,* but that nolo believe. And who not only
believe, but obey.
2G. It is evident from the plain history of facts, that the real
state of both Jews and Gentiles was equally and impartially
considered, in the sight of God ; and that all stood in equal need
of a Saviour, from Moses to Christ.
27. The descendants of Abraham were taught the faith and
worship of the One true God; but very early, was idolatry in-
Gen. xxxi
19. 30-:jo.
troduced
anions:
them. Rachel stole the gods of her father,
xxxv. 2, 3,
Amos, v.
25, 20.
-Acts, vii.
42, 43.
Josh, xx iv.
14, & 23.
Deut. ix. 4-
6, & 24.
Keel. Re-
searches,
p. 22, 23.
brought them to Mount Gilead, and artfully contrived to keep
them.
28. Afterwards, however, Jacob, required his household, and
all that were with him, to put away the strange gods that were
with them ; accordingly they were given up to Jacob, with all
their ear-rings, and he hid them under an oak by Shechem.
29. And after this, again, in Egypt, they served strange gods.
And even after they were delivered from the bondage of Egypt,
forty years did the house of Israel carry, in the wilderness, the
tabernacle of Moloch and Chiun, their images., the star of their
god, which they made to themselves; as saith the Prophet
Amos. Stephen explains it by calling them figures, or images,
which they made to worship the host of heaven.
80. To this agree the words of Joshua, who, after having
settled the Israelites in the land of promise, assembled them
together, and said, "Put away the gods which your fathers
served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt ; and serve
ye the Lord."
31. It was therefore justly observed, that it was not because
of the righteousness of the Israelites, nor for the uprightness of
their hearts, that they inherited the land of promise ; but to sub-
serve the purpose of God in regard to a spiritual seed. For
Moses declared that they were a stiff-necked people, and that
they had been rebellious against the Lord, from the da}7 that he
knew them.
82. The conduct of the Israelites as a people, after they were
in possession of the promised land, both under the judges and
kings, need not be more clearly expressed than it is by Robinson;
33. " Moses and the Levites had put to death about three
thousand men, for setting up the golden calf; but he had not
* The Jews did believe in a Messiah to come ; but their past belief was ren-
dered ineffectual, by their unbelief in him when present among them.
."B. II. BEFORE THE APPEARING OF CHRIST. 67
extirpated idolatry ; it was practised all liis time ; and it was chap. hi.
practised in the time of Joshua, and it continued to be practised Ex XIX11
under the judges through all this period. The people did 28.
serve, and would serve Baal and Ashtaroth ; and although 15-28.
Gideon checked foreign idolatry, yet he set up an idol of his jj^.i63"'
own; and as soon as he was dead, the people turned again to vi. 25, 32.
Baalim, and made Baalberith their god. 331' ~4- ~h
34. "Samuel the last of the judges, observes that, in his time, 1 Sam.yii.
they served strange gods and Ashtaroth : so that idolatry was ' " ^ '"'
practised through this whole period." Under the kings, is ex-
hibited a code of statutes, like the former, " Which made idolatry
and several vices capital crimes, and was a history of the per-
petual violation of it. The kings were arbitrary, but far from
enforcing the law, they broke it themselves, and protected others
in doing so.
35. " David, who was an enemy to idolatry, committed adultery i Kings ix.
and murder with impunity. Solomon, who built a temple for ^ 5 s
Jehovah on one mountain at Jerusalem, built also an high place
for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on another; and though
he sacrificed three times a year to Jehovah, yet at other times
he went after Moloch, the God of Amnion, and Ashtaroth, the
goddess of Zidon.
36. "Jeroboam, who reigned over ten tribes, set up calves of chap. xii.
gold, made high places and priests, ordained festivals, and 25~33-
ofi'ered sacrifices to idols. And Rehoboam, who reigned over xiv.23, 24.
the other two, either built, or suffered the people to build, high
places, and set up images, and to consecrate groves, and to do
all the abominations of the ancient inhabitants of the land. In
this manner, in general, they conducted themselves through all
this period.
37. "It is remarkable that the royal reformers were idolaters 1 Kings, x.
themselves ; for Jehu departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, 28' 2y'
the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Ban. Asa, who , „.
. ' I Kings,
dethroned his mother, because she had made an idol (this was an xv. 13. 14.
obscene filthy idol) in a grove, did not take away the high x^'is-
places ; and Joash not only left the house of the Lord, and served ~~-
groves and idols, but murdered Zechariah, for remonstrating
against idolatry, in the court of that very house of the Lord which
he had pretended to purify from idolatry by shedding the blood of
his mother and the Baalites. It is observable, further, that the
people, who put others to death, did not reform themselves."
38. It is true, that, through the Hebrew nation, God hath
verily performed his promise made unto Abraham, in raising up
that seed in which all the families of the earth were to be
blessed. But, when the long-suffering, patience, wisdom, and
goodness of God, in dealing with that nation, in order to fulfil
his promise, is rightly considered, it will appear marvellous
68 THE STATE OV ALL MANKIND B. II.
ctlap. in. indeed. Through perpetual changes of judgment and mercies,
was his name upheld.
39. And it is certain, that although, in some extraordinary
instances, some walked blameless, as touching the external law;
yet as touching the internal work of redemption by Christ, they
were not blameless: Witness, Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul,
the Apostle of the Gentiles.
40. And it is also certain, that, as a people, they were as
prone, and, when not restrained by judgments, as active, to
commit all the abominations of the earth, as any other nation
under heaven. Their whole history proves this.
41. And as to the internal work of salvation, their real state
and standing, in the sight of God, was considered no better than
other nations. This is most manifest, from the Prophets : —
isa. i. io- 42. Thus saith Isaiah: "Ah sinful nation, a people laden
with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are cor-
rupters I Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom:
give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To
what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? saith
the Lord, your hands are full of blood.
xxx. 8, 9. 43. "Write it before them in a table, and note it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever ; that this
is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear
the law of the Lord."
.Ter. xxiii. 44. Thus said God by Jeremiah: "I have seen also in the
prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing : they commit adultery,
and walk in lies ; they strengthen also the hands of the evil-doers,
that none doth return from his wickedness : they are all of them
unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.''''
45. Thus said the Lord God, by Ezekiel, concerning Jerusalem :
" She hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the
nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round
about her; for they have refused my judgments, and my statutes,
they have not walked in them."
Mic. vii.2, 4(5_ And by Micah: "There is none upright among men:
they all lie in wait for blood, they hunt every man his brother
with a net; The best of them is as a brier; and the most up-
right is sharper than a thorn hedge.''''
Zeph. iii. 47, And by Zephaniah: " Woe to her that is filthy and pol-
luted, to the oppressing city ! Her princes within her are roaring
2% iii! 13. Hons; her judges are evening wolves; her prophets are light
and treacherous persons ; her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
they have done violence to the law"
Mai. iii. 9. 48. And byMalachi: "Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye
have robbed me, even this whole nation.'''' To this agrees what
Christ testified: "all that ever came before me are thieves
and robbers.''''
Ezek. v. 6
xvi. 47-52.
John, x. 8.
B. II. BEFORE THE APPEARING OP CHRIST. 69
49. Solomon in all his glory had to confess " There is no man ciiAP.nr.
that sinneth not.'" And David also declared, under the Law,
" Every one of them is gone back, they are altogether become x KllJ53'&
filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no not one. Their throat Ecci. v'ii.
is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used deceit ; j,"4 lih 3
the poison of asps is under their lips. . Whose mouth is full of Rom.iii.
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed, blood.
Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace
have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."
50. How uniform and evincible are the testimonies of the law
and the prophets! "Now we know," saith Paul, "that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the
law ; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God." Were then the Jews under the
law any better than the Gentiles? " No," (saith the Apostle,)
"in no v;ise; for we have before proved both Jezvs and Gentiles,
that they are all under sin."
51. Hence it was justly observed of the Jews, by the Prophet
Isaiah, that, although God had increased the nation, and they
had been in pain like a woman in travail ; yet they had, as it j3. xxvi.
were, " brought forth wind, and had not wrought any deliver- 15_i8-
ance in the earthy A more just and true expression was never
uttered by a prophet !
52. At the time of the birth and appearing of Jesus Christ,
the state of the world, in regard to piety and virtue, was very \q ' v'
deplorable. The whole world lay in wickedness. In particular,
the world is divided into four parts, and their situation justly Ecci. Re.
stated by Robinson, as each is described in the holy Scriptures. p" 33' 34'
53. "The first contains the uncivilized part of mankind, and 1Cor vi 9
these, who are alike in all ages, are depicted in miniature by the iTim.i.io.
Apostle of the Gentiles, and at large by the legislator of the
Jews, and both are justified by profane writers.
54. "The barbarous ceremonies, and the beastly and un- Lev. xviii.
natural crimes of these people, excited in Moses such indignation, 21-24, yr.
that he seems at a loss for language to express it, and he exclaimed
of one vice, it is abomination, of another, it is confusion, and of
the whole, it is wickedness.
55. " In a second division, we may consider the civilized part
of the world, the accomplished Greeks, the polite Romans, and
all others, who have been reclaimed from brutality, and instructed
in the arts of regular life. It is but justice to allow, that their
taste for all the arts was elegant in the highest degree ; but the
same justice obliges us to affirm, that they were devoid of all
religion and virtue.
56. "The Apostle Paul describes this class of men, in the
latter half of the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and, 30°
to say nothing of books ^e have an undeniable proof, and a full
70 THE STATE OP ALL MANKIND B. II.
CHAP. III. illustration of what he affirms, in the ruins of the famous cities
of Herculaneum and Pompeii.
57. "About twenty years after Paul wrote his Epistle to the
Romans, a sudden eruption of mount Vesuvius buried these two
places with all the inhabitants.* They were first covered with
ashes and cinders, and then glazed over, as it were, with the
burning lava of the mountain. Secured by this, and subsequent
eruptions, from the action of the air, the whole lay undiscovered,
and some parts unhurt, for 1641 years. The discovery was
made in 1720, "and all the statues, vases, pictures, and build-
ings confirm the two truths just now mentioned, that the inhabit-
ants had an exquisite taste for the arts, and a total ignorance of
religion and virtue.
58. "Judea in general, maybe considered as a third class.
The governors were unprincipled tools of pagan Rome ; the chief
priests were Sadducees, who believed no future state ; the ex-
positors of the law rendered the text obscure by traditions.
59. " Those hungry hypocrites, the Pharisees, were the guides
of the common people ; and the people themselves were abomin-
Tiius, i. ig. able and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. Their
own historians say all this, and much more to the same purpose.
jose.de According to Josephus, they trampled upon all human laws,
Bel. jib. iv. derided divine things, and made a iest of the oracles of the Pro-
CUD. 0. i *
phets, as of so many dreams and fables.
60. "In a fourth division we put the devout Jews. These
Mat. xx. were few, and they had very imperfect notions of that kind of
Act?!' 6 kingdom which their ancient Prophets had foretold (rod intended
to erect; and of that sort of Messiah, by whom the great event
was to be effected. Hence it was, that, when he came to his
own, his own received him not."
Ecci. His- 61. To this may be added the following extracts from Mosheim.
l026 28* '" ^"nc* ^rst' concermnS tne Pagans, "The rites used in their wor-
29.~ ' ship were absurd and ridiculous, and frequently cruel and
obscene. For the gods and goddesses, to whom public homage
was paid, exhibited to their worshippers rather examples of
egregious crimes, than of useful and illustrious virtues. The
consequences of this wretched theology were a universal corrup-
tion of manners, which discovered itself in the impunity of the
most flagitious crimes.
62. "It is also well known, that no public law prohibited the
sports of the gladiators,! the exercise of unnatural lusts, the
* Paul wrote in 58. The cities were buried in 79. Discovered by Prince Elbeuf,
and pursued by the king of Naples.
f The gladiators were persons appointed to fight each other with the sword, for
the entertainment of the nobility and people. The fighters generally consisted of
slaves, prisoners of war, &c, who were stripped naked to the waist, and sent into
the amphitheatre or place appointed, to fight till death. In this way vast numbers
were slain, while thousands of spectators looked on to see the sport !
B. II. BEFORE THE APPEARING OP CIIRIST. 71
licentiousness of divorce, the custom of exposing infants, [to CHAP- IIT
wild beasts,] and of procuring abortions, nor the frontless atrocity
of consecrating publicly stews and brothels to certain divinities."*
63. " The state of the Jews was not much better than that of ibid. p. 38,
other nations, at the time of Christ's appearance in the world. alld4°-
They were governed by Herod — his government was a yoke of
the most vexatious and oppressive kind. The priests, and those
who possessed any shadow of authority, were become dissolute
and abandoned to the highest degree ; while the multitude, set
on by these corrupt examples, ran headlong into every sort of
iniquity."
64. Such then, as has been stated, was the real situation of all
mankind, from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to Christ. Not
all of them at all times alike, in name or appearance, nor equally
corrupt in practice. But all of them, patriarchs and families,
kings and prophets, priests and people, from Adam to Christ,
were destitute of the real internal power of salvation from all
sin. It is testified by the Law and the Prophets, and confirmed
by the most undeniable facts.
65. And hence the conclusion of the holy Scriptures, before
the appearing of Christ: "Remember ye the I mo of Moses my Mal.iv.4,
servant, saith God, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for d' ('-
all Israel, with the statutes and judgments."
66. " Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the
coming of the great day of the Lord. And he shall turn the
heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with A curse."
* These were worshipped by the most abominable and filthy obscenities.
TELE TESTIMONY
OP
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
BOOK III.
THE DISPENSATION OF THE FIRST APPEARING OF CHRIST-
THE BEGINNING AND WORK OF A NEW CREATION.
CHAPTER I.
15,
JESUS CHRIST PRECEDED AND INTRODUCED BY JOHN THE
BAPTIST.
Mankind being universally sunk in depravity, and the Jews chap. i.
themselves, who, in the times of their obedience and prosperity,
had figuratively stood as God's chosen people, being totally igno-
rant of that kind of Messiah and his kingdom, which their ancient
Prophets had foretold ; it was highly necessary, that the way for
the coming of Christ should be prepared, before he could be re-
ceived by any.
2. The angel Gabriel had informed Zacharias of the birth and
designation of John, that he should drink neither wine nor strong ie' 17-
drink, but should be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's Mat. m. 3
womb, and turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their
God ; and that he should go before him, in the spirit and poioer
of E lias — and make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
3. It was in the last days of the Jewish commonwealth, and in
their worst state of depravity, that John the Baptist appeared.
His parents were both aged, like Abraham and Sarah. And
John, like Isaac, was born according to promise.
4. It is every where observable, in the sacred history of God's
dealings with mankind, that his ways are not man's ways. John
did not make his appearance to the world, from among the learned
6
Mark, i. 2,
3.
74
CHRIST INTRODUCED BY
B. III.
CHAP I.
I. uke, in.
2,3.
Mat. iii. 2,
5-9.
Jud^.iv 3;
& vi. 7-10
Acts, vii.
51.
Luke, vii.
30.
32.
John, i. 15-
27.
doctors, nor from the great Sanhedrim of the Jews ; but abode
in the deserts until the day of his testimony unto Israel. _
5. And when the fulness of time was come, John received his
mission from Almighty God, and went forth with the solemn cry,
" Repent ye; for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Then went
out to him multitudes from Jerusalem, and from other parts of
Judea, particularly from the region round about the river Jor-
dan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
6. " But, when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers'.
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring
forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance : and think not to say
within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father."
7. The Jews had been long accustomed to confess their sins,
one by one, to the priests appointed for that purpose ; and, in
times of calamity, they had acquired a habit of feigning repent-
ance, and claiming their right to the promises made to faithful
Abraham ; while they themselves continued to bring forth the
fruits of sin, and perpetual rebellion against God, and were abomi-
nable, and "to every good work reprobate."
8. But this feigned repentance, and confessing sins without
forsaking them, and this pretended submission to what John
taught, by being baptized, while they had no sincere intention of
reforming was too thin a mask to conceal the hypocrisv of those
blind guides from that burning and shining light which pene-
trated their secret motives.
9. It was not the rulers who believed, or wished to believe, the
testimony of John ; on their parts they rejected him. It was
the common people that were the most disposed to receive his
testimony. And while they came to him from every quarter,
and were baptized, confessing their sins, such an affair could not
escape the notice of the rulers, without their taking cognizance
of it ; but fearing the multitude, who all held John as a Prophet,
they conducted themselves with caution, and sent priests and
Levites to examine, and if possible to detect, him.
10. The deputies found John in Bethabara, beyond Jordan,
where he was baptizing. "And they asked him, Who art thou ?"
"He acknowledged, I am not the Christ. And they asked him,
what then ? Art thou Elias ? And he said, I am not. Art
thou that prophet ? And he answered, No."*
11. "Then said they, Who art thou ? What sayest thou of
thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias."
12. This was enough, had they been honest. But, added
they, "Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor
Elias, neither that prophet ?" This was equal to saying, If thou
* Original, Nay.
B. III. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 75
art not an extraordinary person, immediately commissioned by CHAP- T-
God, why dost thou introduce this rite, for which thou hast re-
ceived no authority from us ?
13. "John answered them, I baptize with water: but there
standeth one among you, whom ye know not ; he it is, who,
coming after me, is preferred before me ; for he was before me."
14. "And John, bare record that he saw the Spirit descending John, i. 32'
from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Jesus ;" and also 33-
freely acknowledged of himself , saying, lia?id I kneto him not ;
but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto
mc, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remain-
ing on him, the same is he which baptizelh with the Holy
Spirit."
15. The next day, after John's answers to the Pharisees, he
saw Jesus coming, and introduced him as the Saviour of man-
kind, saying, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world /"
16. This was the testimony of John from the beginning, " I Mat.iii.ll,
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance : but he that 3'
cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy
to bear ; he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and ivithfire :
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his
floor, and gather his wheat into the garner ; but he will burn up
the chaff with unquenchable fire.''''
17. John was a burning and shining light ; yet he was not the John, i 7,
true light, but was sent to bear witness of that light ; so the
baptism with water, was not the true baptism of the Holy Spirit
and fire ; but the former was a striking figure of the latter. As
baptizing, dipping, or washing in water, cleanses the body from
outward pollution, so the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire
cleanses the soul from sin.
18. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire was prefigured
under the Law ; but by nothing more strikingly than by John's
baptism ; and it was spoken of by the Prophets, particularly the
Prophet Malachi,who said of Christ, He is like a refiner's fire — Mai. iii.2,
and he shall sit as a refiner. And mankind had been encouraged to
long and thirst for that day of God that should "burn as an oven." chap. iv. l.
19. Of course, when that day commenced, the sign could be
of no further use, nor could it be continued, except with those
who ignorantly wished to continue under a comfortable deception.
20. Here lay the mystery : the baptism of John was no more
like that of Christ, than water is like fire ; and the only compari-
son that could be drawn between them was, that as water is re-
freshing to a thirsty man, so is the fire of truth to a soul thirst-
ing for salvation. And, as water is of a cooling, cleansing nature,
so it is the nature of fire to burn and consume ; and therefore,
what was ceremonially cleansed under the Law, must needs be
7G CHRIST INTRODUCED BY B. III.
chap. i. consumed under the Gospel. Such then is the difference between
the shadow and the substance.
Mat. iii. 13 21. Jesus himself came to be baptized of John; but John
said, " I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to
me ? Jesus said, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us
to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him."
22. And when Jesus was baptized, and came up out of the
water, and the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove ;
(which appearance served as a visible sign to John, that this was
the Son of God, who should baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire ;)
then was John's mission fulfilled; consequently he must thence-
forth decrease.
John iii. 23. John was a faithful witness, and plainly testified of Christ
30- ' Jesus, that " He must increase, but I must decrease;'''1 and there-
fore, as soon as the Holy Spirit was given, and the baptism of fire
commenced, there was no further need of the baptism of water,
nor could it be used as a binding institution, unless it were
through ignorance, or cunning deceit, to ease the pain and pro-
Luke, xii. long the life of that sinful nature, which the fire of naked truth
49- had begun to consume. For this was the fire which Christ came
to kindle on earth.
24. It was the testimony and baptism of John that first at-
tracted the multitude. And some of John's disciples left him,
and followed Jesus. From this it may easily be inferred why
some of the disciples of Jesus baptized.
John iv. 2. ^5. " Jesus himself baptized not;'''' and whether he command-
ed his disciples to baptize with water, or not, the sacred text
does not say, but the faith of the multitude was strenuously fixed
on the economy of John ; and the disciples themselves were then
ignorant of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
26. And, even after the Holy Spirit was given, it is probable
M\% xvi. that, in some instances, the Apostles made use of water baptism,
3; fc xxi. circumcision, and other Jewish ceremonies, in order to make the
Tcor.i. 14, truth accessible to the blind and bigoted, who were unable to see
Gai "78 beyond the shadow, which was to be abolished.
27. Paul circumcised Timothy, and (although not commanded
so to do) baptized some individuals, and in obedience to the other
Apostles, had his head shaved, and used other ceremonies of the
Law. But as no Jewish ceremony was ever used by them as an
institution binding upon Christians, but were merely used to
make the substance accessible to such as needed these figures.
28. Jesus commanded his disciples, saying, "Go ye and teach
xxviii. if) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit." But here was a mystery. They
had first to tarry at Jerusalem, and know for themselves what it
Acts, 4 5. was to be in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit,
before they could in truth baptize in that name.
B. III. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 77
29. And that this command to baptize had no reference to cnAP- *•
water, is plain, from the words of Paul: "J thank God that .
I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius. And I bap- w.
tized also the ho?iseho!d of Stephanus; besides, I know not
whether I baptized any other.'1''
30. Would Paul have thanked God for not doing what Christ
commanded him ? In nowise. But he immediately tells what
was commanded him, when he says, '■'■Christ sent me not to
baptize, but to preach the Gospel. " Hence it is indisputable
that baptism by water is no part of the Gospel, or he would have
been sent to administer it. The truth is, that in every age, and
in every nation under f heaven, mankind were justified and ac-
cepted of God, according to the degree of their obedience to the
light they were under.
31. Those who were commissioned to preach the Gospel, never
bound mankind to any thing beyond the conviction of their own
consciences. Jesus himself spake the word as they vjere able to Marki iv-
bear it. Hence it was, that circumcision was made use of in
the days of the Apostles, and such as gladly received the word,
. were baptized; but neither of them was the substance of the
thing signified.
32. Outward circumcision could never destroy the root of sin ; Rom- " ss,
nor could the external baptism or washing with water, ever take
away the internal pollution of the soul.
33. The mission of John the Baptist, was to prepare the way
for the Messiah, and was not to increase, but to decrease, when-
ever the ministry of the Messiah commenced. Hence, from
John's mission as a witness of that light, that all men through
him might believe, it is evident that Christ could not have been
revealed to the world without a witness.
34. John bore testimony to a kingdom of heaven at hand.
From which it is clear that he himself was not in that kingdom.
And, from the testimony of Jesus, it is easy to infer, that those
who were before John, were still more remote from the kingdom
than he. " Verily I say unto you, among them that are born Mat. xi.ll.
of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Bap-
tist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of hea-
ven is greater than Ae."
78 MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST. B. III.
CHAPTER II.
THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST OR THE ANOINTED.*
chap. ir. Before the first appearing of Christ, long experience had
proved, that no redemption from the nature and effects of the
fall, had yet been wrought among the human race. No law, how-
ever severe against sin, had ever yet saved the soul from its
reigning power.
'2. From Adam to Moses, and from Moses to Christ, the true
cause of virtue and freedom was unknown. Sin, through the in-
strumentality of Man, had continued to corrupt the world. Op-
pression, civil and religious, had still continued to pervade the
earth, and destroy the peace and happiness of mankind.
3. As the whole posterity of fallen man, had thus continued
to bring forth the fruits of unrighteousness, the produce of an
evil nature; and, instead of being reclaimed from the depravity,
of the fall, the world had ivaxed old in wickedness, it was ne-
cessary that the axe should be laid to the root of that corrupt
tree, before the cause of sin could possibly be removed, or the
effect cease.
4. As sin entered into the world by the first man's disobedi-
ence, and all his posterity, in the same nature of rebellion, con-
tinued to follow his example, by which the whole became separa-
ted and fallen from God, it required a life and example directly
contrary to theirs, in order to their recovery.
5. And as the very nature of man was corrupt, and stood in
direct enmity against God, it was impossible for him to find redemp-
tion, except through that Mediator, the Lord Jesus, who pos-
sessed the same nature and enmity, and thereby was united to the
fallen race, that he might crucify that nature, and slay the en-
mity, in order to become "the Captain of their salvation."
Heb. ii. 14, 6. Hence it is written, " Forasmuch as the children are par-
15- takers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of
the same ; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil ; and deliver them, who,
through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
7. It is evident, from the Scriptures, that the man Jesus,
who was ordained and anointed of God to become the Saviour
Mat. i. 25. 0I" mankind, was not begotten after the flesh ; or in other words,
Luke, i. 35, by the works of natural generation ; but he was made by the
power of the Highest, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, through
* Greek, Christos, Anointed.
B. III. MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST. 79
the medium of a woman, who with the rest of mankind, was un- chap, ii.
der the law of a corrupt nature.
8. For verily he was not formed of the nature of angels, but Gal. iv. 4,
of the seed of Abraham, for he was " made of a woman," a de-
scendant of Abraham ; " made under the law ;" and in this he
became united to mankind in their fallen state ; the Word [ori- Sf*-"* 16>
ginal, Divine Intelligence] was manifested in flesh, that is, in Je- jo'hn,'i.i4.
sus, and dwelt among men, that he might redeem them from the
power and dominion of sin.
9. It is certain that, if Jesus had been begotten and con-
ceived after the corrupted order of sexuality, descending from
fallen man, he never could have had the pre-eminence above the
first Adam, nor have been in a condition to have received the
anointing power, or heavenly dove, that enabled him to become
the Redeemer and Lord of the new creation — a new and heavenly
order.
10. But before Jesus Christ came into the world, there was
no judgment in the earth ; there was no man who could bring
salvation, for the joining of the human race to the orders above,
had been cut off by transgression. And the Lord saw it, and it isa. Ux. is,
displeased him that there ivas no judgment. " And he saw that 1G-
there teas no man, and ivondered that there was no intercessor ;
therefore his own arm brought salvation.''''
11. After man had once lost the image of God, and his very
nature stood at enmity against God, had his life been prolonged
to succeeding millions of ages, it would have been impossible for
him to have recovered from his fallen state, without an entire
new order of things, properly called the adjusting of a new age,
or a new creation.
12. And, from generation to generation, while man remained
in the order of the first creation, as it stood after he fell, it was
justly said of him, that when he multiplied, The wickedness of
man was great in the earth. For, instead of subduing and re-
plenishing the earth, he corrupted it, and brought it under a
double condemnation.
13. Therefore it was, that Jesus was not begotten after the
order of natural generation, according to the will of man ; nor
made an high priest over the household of God, after the law of
a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. Heb. vii.
For that which was carnal, was, by him, and in him, verily dis- 16' 18'
annulled, and made void.
14. For if he had been begotten after the order of that crea-
tion which had waxed old in wickedness, he could not have been
the medium of salvation, nor the beginning of a neio creation. Rev. iii.u
Neither could he have been the head and first born of many Rom. viii. '
brethren. The first Adam, who was of the earth earthy, must 29'
still have had the pre-eminence.
80 MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST. B. III.
chap ir. 15. But in Christ Jesus was the Divine quickening Spirit, the
real Son of God, having the eternal life and light of Heaven ;
1 Cor. xv. therefore he could reveal the way, and dispense the power by
47' which souls could rise into the elements of the heavenly state.
This quickening Spirit was manifested in Jesus, as the "Second
Adam," with the power to propagate eternal life. In this the
distinction was made plain between the first heads of the old and
new creation.
16. It is evident from the history of Jesus, that from his in-
fancy, he possessed that wisdom and understanding which was
superior to any other of the human race. When twelve years of
T , .. age, he questioned with the learned doctors, who were astonished
Luke, li. o ' a • i -
46-jy. at his understanding and answers; and, in answering his parents,
who had sought him, he said, " Wist ye not that Imust be about
my Father's business ?"
17. Jesus, in the first stages of his life, fulfilled the law of
nature : he was subject to his parents. He fulfilled the moral
law, by the purity of his life and manners : his flesh saw no cor-
ruption by reason of sin. Hence he put an end to the external
ceremonies of the law, and nailed them to his cross of self-
denial.
18. And, when about thirty years of age, he went to John,
acknowledged his mission to be of God, and fulfilled it. And,
being baptized with water, the heavens were opened unto him ;
and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily shape as a dove and
abode upon him; and lo, a voice! saying, " This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am taell pleased.'''' Thus, having received by the
anointing Spirit of Christ an abiding power from on high, which
was not given him by measure, Jesus Christ went forth to do the
will of his Father ; to teach mankind, by precept and example,
the way to the Fountain of true felicity and eternal life.
19. In his public discourses, he unfolded to the multitude,
that divine wisdom which he had received from God, the Father
of all wisdom and goodness. By the spirit of truth and love, he
found access to the hearts of the sincere, and fixed that convic-
tion in their minds which human wisdom can never inspire nor
dissolve.
20. Jesus Christ knew, by that divine wisdom which dwelt
in him, that very few were disposed to hear, much less to obey,
what he was commissioned to teach ; and therefore he frequently
retired to the mountains and deserts, from the cabals and cla-
mors of the chief priests and rulers, who kept the people under
bondage and fear.
21. To such as wished to hear, and were honestly seeking for
salvation, he taught the Gospel of his kingdom, and no others
received it. To those who followed him, he first opened the little
narrow way of self-denial, and laid before them those characters
B. ILL MINISTRY OP JESUS CHRIST. 81
•which are truly blessed, namely, the poor in spirit, the mourner, CHAP- n-
the seeker after righteousness, the meek, the merciful, the pure Matt. v. a-
in heart, the peacemakers, and such like. 1~-
22. Long experience had proved, that this blessedness was
not to be attained by the external rights of the Law ; it was
therefore necessary that he should show them a more excellent
way.
23. He bore a swift testimony against every kind of vice, and
against tyranny in every form. He manifested the truth of his
testimony to the world, by his example of piety and virtue. He
strictly observed and kept all the commandments of God his
Father, taught others to do the same by following his example ;
and confirmed the truth of his Divine mission by his miracles,
and by the purity of his life.
24. Although Jesus came to fulfil the true intent of the law,
he knew that his testimony would be perverted, "for he knew John, ii. 24.
what was in man," and therefore said, "Think not that I am J'aU v' 17~
come to destroy the Law or the Prophets : I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil. For I say unto you, that except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, (which is of the law,) ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven."
25. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger
of the judgment : But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry
with his brother without a cause, shall be in clanger of the judg-
ment."
26. " Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Mat. v. 27.
Thou shalt not commit adultery : But I say unto you, That
whosoever looketh on a ivoman to lust after her, hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee : For it is profita-
ble for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that
thy whole body should be cast into hell."
27. Again : " Ye have heard that it hath been said by them Mat. v. 33,
of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform &c-
unto the Lord thine oaths : But I say unto you, Swear not at all.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth : But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil."
28. " Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy : But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and per-
secute you ; that you may be the children of your Father which
is in heaven. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect."
29. Thus the life and ministry of Jesus, both by precept and
82 MINISTRY OP JESUS CHRIST. B. III.
chap II. example, was that which never before had either been understood
or practised by mankind. The true intent of the Law was wholly
unknown, and the letter itself was but the sayings of those of old
time.
30. Who then, of all the human race, ever fulfilled the law of
Grod until Jesus fulfilled it ? He was the first who kept his
Father's commandments. By him the Divine perfections of the
great First Cause were first taught.
31. In him were found the treasures of true wisdom and know-
ledge. In him was the example of patience, meekness, long-suf-
fering, universal benevolence and love, and every practice that
became the Son of Glod, the Prince of Peace. And such an one
Heb vii. ft behooved to be the Saviour of mankind, who was " holy, harm-
6. less, undejiled, and separate from sinners."
?y2. It is evident, from the sacred writings, concerning the life
and ministry of Jesus, that he became the anointed of God,
to bring salvation to man ; that he came to redeem the souls of
men from under the bondage of sin, and from oppression of every
kind.
33. And it is further evident, that Jesus Christ was the be-
ginning of a new creation, the first foundation and chief corner-
stone of a spiritual kingdom, which had no connexion with the
generation, population, increase, or government, of this world,
but merely as it respected the redemption of mankind.
34. Jesus knew that his testimony would cost him his life ;
but seeing that for the cause of righteousness he came into the
world, he, for the benefit of mankind, willingly suffered and died
in the accomplishment of that design.
Like, xvii. 35. He foretold, to his disciples, that he must suffer many
~5- things, and be rejected of this generation, and of the elders,
Mark, viii. chief priests, and scribes, [or writers ;] that they would put him
3l" to death, and that he should rise again the third day. In all
such sufferings, his followers would be included, according to his
John, xv. saying, " If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
-"• you."
36. And accordingly, being put to death in the flesh, through
the envy of the chief priests and rulers, he rose again the third
day ; and, by many infallible proofs, shewed himself alive unto
his disciples, "after his passion," that is, showed that he lived
in spirit, the same being whom they had known as Jesus. These
he had instructed during the time of his ministry, and chosen to
be witnesses of his name ; and now he appeared to them forty days,
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
37. And having, through the Holy Spirit, given command-
ment to his Apostles, to teach all nations in his name, beginning
I uke.xxiv. at Jerusalem, he charged them to tarry there until they should be
47-5-2. endued with power from on high ; and having led them out as
B. III. THE INSTITUTION OF, &C. 83
far as Bethany, lie lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And, chap, hi.
while he blessed them, a cloud received him out of their sight,
and they worshipped him ; and returned to Jerusalem with great Acts,i. s, 9.
joy, and continued there with one accord until the day of Pente-
cost.
CHAPTER III.
THE INSTITUTION OP THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
It is evident, from the Scriptures, that the Apostles of our Lord
and Saviour, had received no real spiritual understanding of the
nature of his kingdom, until they were baptized with the Holy
Spirit.
2. Although it is written, that John was filled with the Holy
Spirit, that Zacharias and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy
Spirit, and that the prophets, and holy men of God in old time,
spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit ; yet, after all
this, it was said that, " the Holy Spirit toas not yet given, be- 3ohn,vii'
cause that Jesus was not yet glorified."
3. When, therefore, the Prophets, or holy men of God, are
represented as having the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit' of Christ,
before Christ was fully made manifest in the Church, his true
body, it means nothing more than their being anointed and in-
spired with the Holy Spirit, which influenced them, at certain
times, to prophecy of things to come, but did not abide and re-
main in them as the constant spring of all their actions.
4. There was evidently an extraordinaiy measure, and man-
ner, in which the Holy Spirit was to be received according to
the promise of Christ, which could not possibly take place, until
the work of regeneration was completed in him, and till he was
glorified, and received that fulness of the Spirit which was the
promise of the Father, and which was to flow from him to such
as were united to him by faith and, obedience, as members of his
body.
5. Jesus Christ could, and did, administer a measure of his
Spirit to his disciples, while he was with them ; and they could
go forth in fafth, and speak in his name ; and in the power of
that spirit which they received from him, they could cast out
unclean spirits, and perform many miracles. But they had not
84
THE INSTITUTION OF
B. III.
CHAP. III.
Ileb.viii. 2;
ix. 11.
-Cor. vi.
16.
Mat. xvi.
15-19.
Rev. i. 5.
Deut.xxxii.
4.
1 Cor. iii.
11.
Eph. ii. 20.
Mat. xvi.
SIO.
the fountain abiding in them, from -which that power flowed;
and therefore they followed Jesus from place to place, and re-
ceived their ministrations from him.
G. This was signified by the tabernacle of Moses in the wil-
derness, which was followed by the children of Israel, until the
ark of the testimony found a fixed habitation in the temple of
Solomon.
7. Christ Jesus, while in the body of his flesh, was " the true
tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man." And the pri-
mitive Church was " the temple of the living God,'''' where his
mind and will was made known ; which was prefigured by the
first temple at Jerusalem.
8. Christ Jesus, while visible on earth, asked his disciples,
saying, "Whom say ye that lam? And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living Cod."
This could now be said in truth ; for Jesus was then the anoint-
ed of God, and became the first born from the dead.
9. And Jesus answered, and said unto him, " Blessed art
thou Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto
thee, that thou art Peter * and upon this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven ; and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven."
10. " God is the Rock. And other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.'" The Revelation of
Cod through Christ, was therefore the rock upon which he pro-
mised to build his Church. And, though this revelation was in
all the Apostles, and was the same according to its order, by
which the Prophets had prophesied of Jesus Christ ; yet, accord-
ing to the promise of Christ, Peter was ordained to be the leader
among the Apostles in the Church.
11. At the same time that the disciples of Jesus manifested
their faith concerning him, he charged them to tell no man that
he was Jesus the Christ. By which it may be clearly seen, that,
although he had, from time to time, given them great authority,
respecting their future mission ; yet, while he was visibly present
with them, they could not exercise that authority, until they
had received an abiding seal of the Holy Spirit.
• His former name was Simon, and the name Peter (in the original Petros, i.e.
a rock or stone) Was given him by Christ, signifying that in him should be mani-
fested the revelation of God; and by this revelation, through Christ, which pro-
ceeded from the Rock of eternal ages, he was appointed the visible head of the
primitive Church, after Christ, and the leader of the twelve Apostles. (See Mat.
xvi. 18 ; and John, i. 42.) N.B. Kephas, or, as it is in our translation, Cephas,
is said to be a Syriac word, and signifies the same as does Peter in Greek, namely,
a rock or stone.
21-28
B. III. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 85
12. Christ, that is, the Divine Spirit, could never be seen by chap, hi.
mortal eye, nor the nature of his kingdom be understood by
human wisdom. He was only known by revelation. The
disciples of Jesus Christ themselves, were far from having a
perfect understanding either of Christ, or his kingdom, until the
day of Pentecost, after they had received the spirit of promise,
by which they remembered and understood what Jesus before
had taught them.
13. "When Jesus spake to them that he must suffer many Mat. xvi.
things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed,
and be raised again the third day, Peter began to rebuke him,
saying, " Be it far from thee Lord; this shall not be unto thee.
But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me Satan;
thou art an offence unto me ; for thou savorest not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men."
14. The disciples believed, and knew that Jesus Christ was
the anointed of God; but he often had occasion to complain of
the dulness of their apprehension. " How is it that you do not xvi.it
understand ? "
15. Jesus Christ said unto them, "Yet a little while, and the
world seeth me no more ; but ye see me ; because I live, ye
shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in the John, xiv.
Father, and you in me, and I in you." And again: " These £ji%.
things have I spoken to you hi proverbs ; but the time cometh,
when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, but I shall shew
you plainly of the Father."
16. From which it is plain that, although they knew that he
came from God, yet they did not know what it was to be in
Christ, and to have Christ dwelling in them ; nor did they then,
in reality, know the Father.
17. Even after the resurrection of Jesus, unto the last, when
he was about to take his leave of his little family, whom he had
made heirs of his kingdom by promise, they still remained
ignorant of the nature of that kingdom. For, being assembled
together in his last interview with them, they asked him, saying,
"Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israeli"
18. The only answer they received, was, "It is not for you Acis. i.6,
to know the times, or the seasons, which the Father hath put in 7> s-
his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me,
both in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
utmost part of the earth."
19. It is evident that they were still intent upon an earthly Luke.xxiv.
kingdom; that they still imagined the Messiah would deliver 2]-':3-
their nation from under the Roman government, and restore
again, that kingdom to Israel, which in the clays of David and
86 THE INSTITUTION OF B. III.
chap. in. .Solomon, stood in its highest degree of earthly glory; although
John, xviii. Christ Jesus had plainly told them, that his kingdom icas iiot of
36- this world.
Acts, u 2, 20. But, when the sound came from heaven, as of a rushing
4- mighty wind, and filled all the house where they were sitting;
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance ;
21. Then, and not till then, did they begin to know the truth
of Christ's words, relating to the design of his work, and the
nature of his kingdom. This was the Spirit of anointing with
which Jesus himself was anointed ; and which he had promised
to send them, to lead them into all truth; and this brought to
their remembrance whatever he had taught them, either by pre-
cept or example.
22. Here, then, was the true institution of the primitive
Church ; even the Spirit of truth and revelation of God given
to the Apostles. This was the foundation upon which the
Church was built; the anointing of the Holy Spirit, or Christ
himself, being the chief corner stone : that is, Christ dwelling in
his people, and they in him, according to promise.
23. And as " tongues " were for a " sign ;" and as, in the first
outpourings of the Spirit, the Apostles received the gift thereof;
this gift, or sign, was to them the true and proper seal of their
Mark, ivi. co?n///ission, to go and teach all nations ; to baptize them with
J7' . the same Spirit ; and teach them to observe all things vJiatso-
1 L Or. XIV. T 7 7 7 7 7
21,22. ever Jesus had commanded them.
24. Hence it is evident that the Primitive Church was not
built upon any human system whatever, artfully formed by man's
device ; but upon the inspiration of the living God, made mani-
fest in the hearts of living and chosen witnesses.
25. The first Apostles, were plain, honest, illiterate men, who
is. : cared for no other knowledge than what they received from
Jesus, who himself also, had never learned letters, according to
the order of the Jewish priesthood,
chap xiv. 2(3. Jesus had promised them, saying, " I will pray the Father,
16, 17. &. an(j ]ie shaii give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you forever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive." "When the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide
you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself ; but what-
soever he shall hear, that shall he speak ; and he will shew you
things to come.*
27. This was the Spirit which the Apostles received on the
day of Pentecost — This was the rule of their faith, the bond
of their union, and the spring of their actions, and of their tes-
timony.
* The word here translated " he " in the original is in the neuter gender, and
is used in either the masculine or feminine, as the case may be.
John, xiv.
15.
B. III. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 87
28. The work of Christ was spiritual ; and therefore what chap.iii.
Moses wrote upon hewn stone, Christ Jesus wrote upon the
hearts and minds of his true followers : and in the same manner
the testimony of truth was conveyed from the Apostles to
others.
29. Christ Jesus taught his Apostles, saying, " If ye love me,
keep my commandments. — As the Father hath loved me, so have
I loved you : continue ye in my love. If ye keep my command- chap.xv.9,
ments, ye shall abide in my love ; even as I have kept my Fath-
er's commandments, and abide in his love. — Ye are my friends,
if ye do whatsoever I command you."
30. Nothing, then, was necessary to the government of the
Church, but for those who had learned of Christ Jesus, to walk
even as he walked ; to follow his example ; and to let their light Mat. v. io.
so shine, that others seeing their good toorks, might learn to copy J Cor- X1-
after them. As saith the Apostle, "Be ye followers of me. Phil. iii. 17.
even as I also am of Christ." And again : "Brethren, be fol-
lowers together of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye have
vis for an example."
31. And thus, while the spirit of love and obedience flowed
from Christ the Head, through every member of his body, which
was his Church, they became one with Christ, as Christ was one
with God. And hence the followers of Christ could say, in the
spirit of truth, " As he is, so are u-e in this world." ]7.° n'lv"
32. Herein was the prayer of Christ Jesus answered, " that John,xvii.
they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee;
that they also may be one in us ; that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me"
33. It is very evident that the Spirit which the Apostles
received on the day of Pentecost, did actually produce the kind
offices of love and benevolence, and every good work, in those
who received the Apostles' word.
34. The effects of that Spirit with and into which they were
baptized, were manifest to the honest-hearted, as flowing from
a good cause ; while, to the blind and dishonest, they appeared
as the effects of intoxication. Justice and freedom, harmony
and peace, reigned in them and among them ; and they were
united together, not by human systems, or the laws of men, but
by the cords of faith and love.
35. " And all that believed were together, and had all things Acts. n. 44-
common ; and, breaking bread from house to house, did eat their 46'
meat with gladness and singleness of heart."
3G. "And the multitude of them that believed were of one chnpiv.14,
heart, and of one soul ; neither said any of them that aught of
the things which he possessed was his own ; but they had all
things common. And with great power gave the Apostles wit-
ness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus ; and great grace was
88 THE INSTITUTION OF, &C. B. III.
chap, in. upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked :
for as many as had possessions of lands or houses sold them ;
and distribution was made unto every man according as he had
need."
37. Such, then, was the spirit of harmony, love, justice, and
equality, that was manifest in the primitive Church at Jerusalem ;
after which, the Gentile churches more or less copied, in the days
of the Apostles. The whole work was evidently wrought by the
internal operation of the power and wisdom of God ; a work
which no human power nor wisdom on earth could ever have,
effected.
38. It is further evident, that the Apostles exercised no
authority over the conscience or conduct of any one, to force
them to believe or practice any thing beyond, or contrary to
their own convictions and choice.
Acts,v. l- 39. This is clear from the case of Ananias, concerning; the
joint interest of the Church, who having sold a possession, came
deceitfully to give up a part, under a pretence of giving up
the whole. But Peter reproved him, saying, " While it re-
mained, was it not thine own ? And after it was sold was it not
in thine own power ? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine
heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."
40. From which it may also be observed, that such was the
burning and penetrating light of God, in those who were com-
missioned with the true Gospel, as entirely excluded the feigned
believer, and the hypocrite, from any part or lot in that
matter.
41. Those who are ignorant of the true spirit that governed
the followers of Christ after the day of Pentecost, might assign
many reasons for the conduct of the Apostles, and the primitive
Church, in selling their possessions, and making distribution
among the believers, as every man had need, and possessing all
things common.
42. But, in truth, it was impossible for those who were of
one heart and of one soul, to act otherwise. They were members
l Cor. xii. of Christ's body, and were actuated by one Spirit ; and therefore,
13, 14, 25. ^ one member suffered, all the rest suffered with it ; and if one
member rejoiced, all the rest rejoiced with it.
43. The very spirit of justice, equity, and love, by which they
became of one heart, and of one soul, was the moving cause of
their conduct. Their conduct was the only true seal of their
profession, and the only true evidence that they had given up all
for Christ and the kingdom of heaven's sake ; as Peter plainly
asserted that he and the rest of the Apostles had done, before
Jesus left them.
Act?, vi. i- 44. The. word of God, through the ministry of the Apostles,
was propagated first at Jerusalem. And believers having greatly
3
Vill.
B. III. THE CROSS MAINTAINED BY, &C. 89
multiplied, seven deacons, — men filled with the Holy Spirit and chap.iv.
with wisdom, — were chosen, by the advice of the Apostles, to
take the charge of the temporal economy of the Church.
45. " At that time, there was a great persecution against the Ac,s> chap.
Church which was at Jerusalem ; and they were all scattered
abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except
the Apostles."
46. Soon after this, the Gospel was opened to the Gentile
nations, principally by the ministry of Paul, who had received
his mission from Jesus Christ, through Ananias, a member of
the Church, and Churches were planted among the Gentiles.
47. But the Gentile Churches were very different from that
which was first founded by the twelve Apostles at Jerusalem.
The Church at Jerusalem was of " one heart and of one soul ;"
whereas, diversity of sentiments and manners prevailed among
the Churches of the Gentiles.
48. Such, however, is the spirit and nature of the Gospel, that
none were ever compelled to believe or practise any thing con-
trary to their own understanding and choice.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CROSS MAINTAINED BY THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
All who believed the doctrines taught by the Apostles, and
were reclaimed from the open practice of vice, were received,
and counted as believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, how much
soever they differed in many things.
2. It was indeed a marvellous work, that brought down those
Gentiles, with all their learning and wisdom, in any degree to
accept of the humiliating Gospel of a despised and persecuted
Nazarene ; that reclaimed them from their heathenish and lasci-
vious practices ; from a plurality of wives, to be contented with
one wife ; and from their pagan idolatry, to serve the living and
true God.
3. The Gospel that Christ taught, was a Gospel of self-denial
and mortification to a carnal nature ; which is called the Cross
of Christ. "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Mat x 38
me, (said Jesus,) is not worthy of me."
4. "If any man will come after me, lei him deny himself, and xvi. 24 25.
7
90
THE CROSS MAINTAINED BY
B. III.
John, xii-
25.
Luke, xiv
20, 27.
CHAP.IV. fa^e Up kis cr0ss a?id follow me. For whosoever will save his
life, shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake,
shall find it."
5. " If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea,
and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever
doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my dis-
ciple."
G. Such were the precepts of the Gospel, as taught by Jesus,
and confirmed to his followers by his own daily life of self-denial
and the cross. And his Apostles obeyed his precepts and fol-
lowed his example, denying themselves of every sensual and car-
nal work of the flesh as he did ; and they preached the same to
others ; which was a stumbling block to the Jews, and to the
Greeks foolishness.
7. The former were superstitiously bigoted to the rites of
Moses, and hated the idea of a Messiah and his kingdom, that
would not bring every other nation and kingdom into subjection
to them. The latter were basely licentious, and rivetted to the
pompous and superstitious ceremonies of their pagan gods and
goddesses ; and hated the piety and simplicity of the Gospel.
8. A Messiah who would have tolerated mankind in licenti-
ousness, and in shedding each other's blood, and who could have
proved by miracles, that the practice of vice and every carnal
pleasure, was the readiest way to heaven, would have given little
or no offence to Jews nor Pagans.
9. But this was not the case. Jesus said to his kinsmen :
" The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify
of it, that the works thereof are evil." And to his disciples he
said: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before
it hated you.
10. " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own :
but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out
of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the
word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his
lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
y°u-"
11. The fundamental cause of all the offence in Christ and his
immediate followers, and of all the persecutions against them,
was their lives of virtue and self-denial, by which they were
pointedly separated and distinguished from the children of this
world.
12. To speak after the common manner of men, Christ Jesus
himself was not married ; and such of the Apostles as had wives,
when they came to follow Christ in the spiritual work of regen-
eration, had nothing more to do in the works of natural genera-
tion. And such of them as were single when they were first
John, vii.
chap. xv.
18-20.
1 John, iii.
12.
B. III. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 91
called to follow Christ, ever after remained so, in regard to the chap, iv.
practice of the world. And all his real followers, without ex-
ception, took up their cross, and denied themselves of every car-
nal gratification of the flesh.
13. And herein the words of Christ to his Father, concerning
his followers, were strictly true : " I have given them thy word; John,xvii.
and the icorld hath hated them, because they are not of the toorld,
even as I am not of the world."
14. The word which Christ gave to those whom he had chosen,
was, " Follow me ;" and, in following him, they walked even
as he walked, and denied themselves as he did. Here was the
cause of every offence, of every evil suspicion, and false con-
struction upon their lives and conduct.
15. "The Pharisees came to Jesus, tempting him, and saying
unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every Mat. xix.
cause?" as though his doctrine led to a licentious variety^: for 3_1~'
it seems they had no better esteem of it.
16. "He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read,
that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and
female ; and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and
mother, and cleave unto his wife ; and they twain shall be one
flesh ? What, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then com-
mand to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?''''
17. From- which it is plain that they did not understand him.
Jesus did not refer them to the history of the stiff-necked and
rebellious Jews, nor to the history of mankind in general, who
after the fall had corrupted the earth ; but he referred them to
what was said at the beginning, when man stood in a state of
innocence.
18. " He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of
your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives : but from the
beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall
put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry
another, committcth adultery ; and whoso marrieth her which is
put away, committeth adultery."
19. By this he exposed the hidden cause of putting away their
wives, and marrying others. His disciples understood him, and
said, " If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good
to marry.''''
20. Jesus approved of their understanding, and manifested it
to be a gift of God, by observing : " All men cannot receive this
saying, save they to whom it is given. There are some eunuchs, "For" is
which were so born from their mother's womb ; and there are Original6
some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men ; and there be
eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom
of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."
92 THE CROSS MAINTAINED BY B. III.
chap, iv. 21. Let it be observed, that, as there be eunuchs which have
made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of Heaven's sake,
these are the very ones who are able, and who do receive this
Mat. xxii. saying, " It is good not to marry ;" and " therefore they neither
yu' marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God
in heaven."
22. Jesus knew that all men did not, and would not, receive
his sayings : the generality closed their eyes, lest they should
see, and stopped their ears, lest they should hear, and be con-
verted from the evil of their doings.
23. He knew that none but such as willingly, and of choice,
denied themselves, and followed his example, were worthy to be
his disciples ; and therefore he never forced any to receive his
sayings, or to follow him, by any human authority whatever.
24. He felt it his duty to reprove hypocrites ; and to teach
those who had ears to hear, what was necessary to be done, in
order to obtain the kingdom of heaven. And when he said,
" He that is able to receive it, let him receive it," he left it with
themselves either to choose or refuse.
25. And when he said, " If any man come to me, and hate
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren,
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple,"
Was it either their souls or their bodies that were to be hated?
In nowise. But it was that selfish disposition, and fleshly,
earthly tie of a corrupt nature, which rivalled (rod's claim to the
principal seat of man's affections ; this he taught his disciples to
hate.
26. He came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.
John, hi. " Grod sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved."
27. The advocates of marriage lay much stress upon Jesus
having attended a marriage in Cana of Galilee. Now, although
he did not thereby condemn this practice in its proper order
among the people of the world, it is clear that he did not attend
for the purpose of introducing the practice among his disciples.
28. Christ Jesus was not of this world ; and therefore it was
not his concern to give laws to govern, or set an example, to
regulate them in that state.* His being at a marriage in Cana,
and turning water into wine, was for a better purpose. As it is
written, " This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of
Galilee, and manifested forth his glory ; and his disciples
believed on him.''' This was the true end and design of his being
John, ii. 11.
* Jesus Christ utterly refused to intermeddle in the civil or political affairs of this
world. " Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? " said he to one who
applied to him for that purpose. [See Luke, xii. 14.] The truth is, his kingdom
was not of this workl; and therefore he would be neither a king nor a judge : his
time was not come ; and whatever those who followed the course of the world
chose to do, he did not interfere to frustrate their designs.
B. III. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 9
o
there. Not to confirm the practice of the world, but to confirm chap, iv.
the faith of his followers.
29. And what was that glory which he showed unto them, hut
a manifestation of his own glory, and the glory of his Father, in
which he was to come with all his holy angels, at the marriage Rev xix.
of the Lamb ? For Jesus himself was not yet glorified.
30. And his turning water into wine, was nothing less to his
disciples, than a seal of the certainty of the future accomplish-
ment of his own marriage ; and a figurative manifestation of that
wine which he afterwards promised to drink with them in his Mat. xxvi.
Father's kingdom.
31. It is therefore a mistake, among those who profess to be
his followers, to suppose, that because, as they say, he graced
a marriage with his presence, he thereby gave any latitude for
the carnal gratification of the flesh.
32. By the same mode of carnal reasoning, might it not with
equal propriety be said, that, because he turned so much water
into wine, after men had well drunk, he also encouraged drunk-
enness ?
33. When he graced with his presence the assemblies of pub-
licans and harlots, and ate and drank with them, did he thereby
encourage them in injustice and whoredom? For his enemies
seem to have had no better sense of his life and conduct, who
called him, " a winebibber, a gluttonous man, a friend of pub- Mat. xi. 19.
licans and sinners.'"
34. But shall we not rather say, that he took those oppor-
tunities of being with them, in order to teach or show them, by
his example, a better way of living ? For he came not to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance.
35. And what more shall we say, when he graced with his
presence the dark abodes of the spirits in prison, who were
disobedient under all the long-suffering of God in the days of
Noah ? Did he encourage them to continue in their disobedience, i pct. ;h.
or did he preach unto them repentance ? 1<J> 20-
36. For the like reason Jesus wrought the miracle at the
marriage, i.e. to establish the faith of his disciples in following him,
which would lead them away from this darling custom of the
world. It is an undeniable fact, that Christ Jesus and his
Apostles did actually deny themselves of all the carnal works of
the flesh ; that they had nothing to do with the works of genera-
tion, and neither married nor were given in marriage, as did
"the children of this world."
37. And it is as undeniable, that, when the Gospel was
preached among the Gentile nations, who had accustomed them-
selves to licentiousness and a plurality of wives, every man, who
for the want of sufficient faith would not refrain, was permitted
to have his own wife, and every woman her own husband.
94 THE CROSS MAINTAINED BY, &C. "B. III.
chap iv. 38. Instructions were given by the Apostle of the Gentiles
x Tim jjj. concerning married bishops and deacons, that such should be the
2-J2- . husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses
7.' u°' ' well, having them in subjection. That the husband should love
Eph. v. 33. jjis wif0 even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her
husband.
39. From which it is evident that none were forbidden to
marry. The Apostles themselves copied the example of Jesus
Christ, and took up a full cross against the flesh; but there were
many professing Christ in the Apostle's days who did not abstain
from marriage. The Gospel was ever a matter of free choice,
and not of compulsion.
40. Nevertheless, a plain distinction is made, by the sacred
writers, between that which was acceptable to the Lord, and that
which was of the world. This distinction is particularly made in
Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians ; unto whom he writes as
unto a carnal people, and not as unto spiritual.
41. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters contain their
character, which is very different from that given of the Church
at Jerusalem. The seventh contains a diversity of instructions
concerning the married and unmarried ; and concerning which,
it appears, that they had written to him before.
42. The instructions of the Apostle were adapted to the state
of the people. There were but few among them who were able,
for the lack of faith, to bear the doctrines of the cross ; and, as
the Apostle expresses it, he had fed them with milk, because they
were not able to bear meat ; and therefore, however plain and
pointed he speaks in one sentence, in another he indulges them
with permissions.
43. In the first verse of the seventh chapter, he answers them
i Cor vii veiT pointedly, saying "It is good for a man not to touch a
i-9. woman." [Gr. ywaixos, a wife.] In the next verse he speaks
by permission, saying, " Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let
every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband."
and so on.*
44. Then again he pointedly says, "I would that all men were
even as I myself; but every man hath his proper gift of God,
[or measure of faith,] one after this manner, and another after
that. I say, therefore, to the unmarried and widows, it is good
for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let
them marry ; for it is better to marry than to burn."
* It may be proper to state that, according to the original Greek, the word
anthropos "man," in the first verse, signifies man looking upward ; that is, a
spiritual minded man, one who "sets his affections on (heavenly) things above
where Christ sittcth, and not on natural or earthly things; such only would receive
pure instructions. In the second verse, the original word aneer signifies man look-
ing downward, that is an earthly or natural man ; it was to such that the indul-
gence of a wife was granted ; evidently, because if not permitted, they would have
fallen into that state which was worse, even against nature.
B. III. INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING, &C. 95
45. This was the best instruction the Apostle could give the chap. v.
Corinthians in such circumstances. They might now live a
little longer in the order of generation, or take up a full cross,
and follow his example, as he followed the example of Christ
Jesus.
46. " It is better to marry than to burn," says he. He well
knew their licentious dispositions, and that it was better for them
to be contented with one wife, than to burn in their lusts one Pom- i. 21
towards another, or defile themselves with mankind, as some of i°cor.vi.9.
them had formerly done.
47. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, progressively
destroys that nature and power of lust, which is the cause of that Rom. vi. 2.
burning ; so that he that is dead to sin, cannot live any longer
therein, being delivered and made free from that burning of the
flesh, which is the first and moving cause to sin.
48. As long, therefore, as any were under the necessity of
making any provision for the flesh, it was an evidence that the
affections and lusts of the flesh were not yet crucified, nor
destroyed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, with which
the Apostles and all the true and real followers of Christ were Gal. v. 24.
baptized. As it is written, " They that are Christ's have
crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts."
10-15.
CHAPTER V.
PERMISSIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS TO THOSE WHO CHOOSE A
MARRIED LIFE.
Concerning those who were married, the Apostle said, "Let 11nc^vil'
not the wife depart from her husband. But, and if she depart,
let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and
let not the husband put away his wife."
2. And, by permission, he said, "If any brother hath a wife
that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him
not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that
believeth not, and, if he be pleased to dwell with he?-, let her not
leave him. For the unbelieving husband is (or may be) sanctified
by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is (or may be) sanctified by
the husband. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A
90 INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING B. III.
ciiAP. v. i,rother or sister is not under bondage in such cases ; but God hath
called us (believers) to peace.'1''
Luke, xii. 3. This instruction applies to the truth of Christ's words,
51,52. "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you,
Nay ; but rather division : For from henceforth there shall be
five in one house divided, three against two, and two against
Mat. x. 38. three. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."
-i. But here the remedy is prescribed by the Apostle ; which
is nothing less than for the parties to allow each other the free
exercise of their faith in matters of conscience ; to be kindly
affectioned one towards another ; and by love and good works
serving one another, and setting the same example before their
children,
l Cor. vii. 5. Thus the unbelieving husband may be sanctified by the
16, 25-27. wife) the wife by the husband, and the children by the parents.
As it is written, " For what knowest thou, 0 wife, whether thou
shalt save thy husband ? Or, how knowest thou, 0 man, whether
thou shalt save thy wife ? "
0. Concerning virgins, the Apostle gave his judgment, as one
that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful : saying, "I
suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present distress.
Art thou bound unto a wife ? seek not to be loosed. Art thou
loosed from a wife? seek not a wife."
7. AVhat was this present distress? Was it persecution? By
no means. It was not concerning persecution that they had
written to him ; but the very subject on which he was writing
through the whole of his seventh chapter.
8. By marrying, they might avoid a great deal of persecution ;
but it was not to avoid persecution, but to avoid fornication,
according to their sense of the matter, that the Apostle said,
"Let every man have his own wife."
9. After all the indulgence which the Apostle gave them, in
their carnal state, the sentiments which he held up foremost to
their view, were the very cause of persecution.
Mark, x. 10. This is plain from the words of Christ, " There is no man
that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the Gospel's, but
he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions ; and in the world to come, eternal life."11
11. Here 'persecutions are put instead of father and icife, and
every necessary blessing is preserved, both in this world, and
that which is to come. Here was the cause of persecutions:
A stumblingblock to the cruel Jews, who could no longer see
any way to uphold wars and fightings, for the want of a posterity
of murdering Cains, to involve the earth in blood and oppression :
A rock of offence to the licentious Greeks ; and a mortifying stain
2!). 31.
B. III. A MARRIED LIFE. 97
to all flesh. Let it be particularly noticed, that the wife is chap, v.
required to be forsaken in order to gain the reward ; but in this jsa. viii. 14,
reward, although an hundred fold is returned, yet the wife is left £■>■ .
out ; which clearly shows that this relation of wife has no part 32, 33.
in Christ.
12. The readiest way to avoid persecution, would have been,
to advise those who professed faith in Christ, not to live contrary
to the children of this world, but to run with them to the same
excess of riot and ruin ; but far different is the humiliating
language of the Gospel.
13. Except a man demj himself, said Jesus, and hate even his
own life, and take up his cross daily and folloio -me, he cannot
he my disciple. Take away, therefore, the precepts of Christ,
and all obligations of following his example, and the offence of the
cross, immediately ceases.
14. " But if thou marry, said the Apostle, thou hast not sin- 1 Cor. vii.
ned ; and if a virgin marry, she has not sinned." This evidently 2S'
applied to such as had not sufficient faith to bear a full cross, i.e.
the earthly minded. But, " nevertheless (adds the Apostle,) such
shall have trouble in the flesh.'''' The truth of this latter position
is so abundantly proved by experience, that it entirely excludes
the propriety of any contradiction. But the Apostle has here so roit1. vjj;.
clearly pointed out the state of those who marry that it seems as 8' 9-
if the most blinded (by nature's darkness) might see the truth.
" Such shall have trouble in the flesh," and thus, such are in-
disputably in a state in which they cannot please God. " For
they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
15. " But I spare you," said he. This agrees with what he ltCor i;i 2
had told them before, " I have fed you with milk, and not with
meat : for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now
are ye able. But this I say, brethren, the time is short : it chap
remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had 2°-ai-
none : and they that weep, as though they wept not ; and they
that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ; and they that use this
world, as not abusing it : for the fashion of this world passeth
away."
16. Observe : they that have wives, shall be as though they
had none ; and they that use this ivorld, as not abusing it. Can
this be said, where the silent grave has inclosed the one and left
the other in desolate widowhood ? or where the souls of both in-
habit eternity ? Or can it be said, where the tomb-stones over
their bodies have sealed their separation from all the works of
time ? By no means, for then none can suppose that they can
" use the things of this world." The Apostle alluded to the time
for which Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray : Thy king-
dom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
17. This time had already come to the Apostle, and to all the
VI i.
Mat. vi. 10.
98 INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING B. III.
chap. v. true followers of Christ, as he tells them in the same epistle, when
speaking of the idolatries, and fornications, and murmurings of the
1 Cor. x. Jews, for which they were destroyed; saying, "Now all these
n- things happened unto them for examples : and they are written
for our admonition, " [the followers of Christ,]" upon whom the
ENDS OP THE WORLD ARE COME."
18. Whatever degree of indulgence was extended to some
among the Gentile nations, who professed faith in Christ, because
they were not able to bear the whole truth ; yet the truth did not
conceal the pointed distinction which Christ made between his
own true followers, and the children of this world.
19. " But," saith the Apostle, " I would have you without
i Cor.vii. carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that be-
32-34. iong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:" [His noblest
and principal affections are there.] " But he that is married
careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his
wife." The wife is put in the place of the Lord, as the first ob-
ject of his affections.
20. " The unmarried woman (i.e. the virgin for Christ's sake,)
careth for the things of the Lord" [upon whom she places her af-
fections,] " that she may be holy both in body and, in spirit;
but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she
may please her husband." She places her first affections upon
her husband, instead of the Lord.
21. The same pointed distinction is made by Jesus Christ ;
Luke, xx. not only when he says of his disciples, " They are not of the
27-37. world, even as I am not of the world;" but in answering the
John, xi. Sadducees, who denied, and knew not that he was the resurrec-
xv 4-7 & tion, he said, " The children of this world marry, and are given
Coi.ii. 12, in marriage; but they which shall be accoimted worthy to ob-
& l John, tain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither
in. l, 2, 3. marry, nor are given in marriage. Neither can they die any
more ; for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children
of G-od, being the children of the resurrection."
John, xi. 22. Christ declared, " I am the resurrection and the life."
23- If his words have any meaning, then the children of the resurrec-
tion arc in his life, and live in him ; hence it follows conclusive-
ly, that all who are in Christ, neither marry nor are given in
marriage. And it is equally proved, that all who marry are not
in Christ, but are in the life of the world.
23. After the Apostle had pointedly shown the Corinthians
the distinction, between what belonged to the world, and what
belonged to the Lord, so careful was he lest they should stumble
at the truth, that he added : " And this I speak for your own
35. profit ; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which
is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without dis-
traction."
B. III. A MARRIED LIFE. 99
24. In his epistle to the Galatians, he showed the cause of chap, v.
this distraction. It was the lust of the flesh, by which they Gai. iii. 1,
were bewitched. They held, as it were, the flesh in their right 3>
hand, and the faith of Christ in their left ; and the spirit could
but feebly plead against the flesh ; hence they could profess to
believe one thing, and practise another, and never practise what
their own faith taught them.
25. But the Apostle prescribes to them the remedy, when he
says, " Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall 'not fulfil the lust of Gai. v. ig,
the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit 17-
against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other ;
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
20. Generation and regeneration can no more be blended than
can death and life, for the life of the one, is the death of the
other ; hence the Saviour testified that " He that will save his
life shall lose it ; but he that hateth and loseth his life, (the gen-
erative life of this ivorld,) shall find and keep it (the regenerative
life) unto life eternal." For the generative life is the living
principle of this world, by which beings are begotten and born
into natural life. But the regenerative life is the living principle
of the superior and heavenly world, by which souls are born into
the heavenly or angelic life ; and thereby become " like the an-
gels of God in heaven." Therefore, no faster than the natural,
generative life dies, can the spiritual, regenerative life possibly
take effect in any soul."
27. How many soever there were among the Gentiles, who
professed faith in Christ, but did not walk in the Spirit, but after
the flesh ; yet it is evident that there was a certain number, pro-
perly called the Church, who did take up a full cross against
all the carnal works of the flesh, after the example of Jesus Christ
and the Apostles.
28. Of this number St. Paid wrote to Timothy saying, " Let l Tim. v.
not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years 9-1'2'
old, having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good
works ; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged stran-
gers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have diligently
followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse ; for
when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will
marry ; having damnation, because they have cast off their first
faith."
29. It is certain then, that their first faith which they had re-
ceived in Christ, was not to live after the common course of the
world in the works of the flesh ; else how could they, by casting
off their first faith, have damnation in marrying ?
30. And, if their first faith in Christ did not require them to
take up a full cross against every lust of the flesh, how could it
be said, that when they would marry, it was because they waxed
100 INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING B. III.
ciiap.v. Wanton against Christ ? For the whole of it pointedly shows
what the faith of Christ was, and what it was that stood against
Christ.
31. It is a mistake, therefore, to suppose, that the number
here spoken of, was a number of widows who were taken into the
Church to be supported only in temporal things. It was not the
immediate concern of the spiritual teachers of the Church to re-
gulate that matter : but it belonged to the deacons, in union with
the apostles, bishops, or elders, as may be seen by the first in-
stitution, to regulate the temporal affairs of the Church at Jeru-
salem.
Acts, vi. 2- 32. Be that as it may, it would be very unreasonable to sup-
pose, that a widow having true faith, who was a widow indeed,
and who stood in need of temporal support, could not receive help
because she was not yet sixty years old.
33. Nature itself, and much more the Gospel of perfect justice
and equity teaches, that, if a widow of no more than thirty years
old, be in distress, and stand in need of as much help as one of
sixty years old, she ought to be relieved. And supposing a widow
of sixty years old, who had true faith, to have had even five hus-
bands, would this, according to the spirit and equity of the Gos-
pel, have shut up the bowels of compassion, in those who believ-
ed, from administering to her necessities ? Certainly not.
34. The truth is, the Apostle had here, a particular reference
to that certain number whose faith it was to live after the exam-
ple of Jesus Christ, and not after the common course of the
world. And he admitted that all such as had already proved
themselves continent, strong in the faith, and had diligently fol-
lowed every good work, might have a privilege to enjoy the free
exercise of their faith with this number, where they might be
supported in temporal things also.
35. And in a strict sense, this number only was properly call-
ed the Church, as is evident from the words of the Apostle that
1 Tim. v. follow : " If any man or woman that believcth have widows, let
them relieve them, and let. not the church be charged; that it may
relieve them that are loidows indeed.''''
36. This further shows, as before observed, that there were
those, in the days of the Apostles, who were counted as believ-
ers, who did not take up a full cross, but more or less followed
the common course of the world, in living after the flesh. And
these could only find access to the Church, as the Gentiles, under
the Mosaic Dispensation, found access to the temple by coming
into the outer court, but could not enter within the temple.
37. Of this sort of believers were the young widows just men-
tioned, who were refused admittance into the Church ; not only
because when they ivaxed wanton against Christ they would
marry ; but withal they learned to be idle, going about from
JO.
33. III. A MARRIED LIPS. 101
house to house ; tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking things chap, v.
which they ought not.
38. It was for these and such like reasons only, that the Apos-
tle said, " I will, therefore, that the younger widows* marry, bear i Tim. v.
children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to 1 ~ '
speak reproachfully. Fur some are already turned aside after
Satan."
39. From which it is evident, that some had already been
proved, who had professed to take up their cross, and had turned
aside from their first faith, and turned against Christ ; and where-
in they turned aside after Satan, is made sufficiently clear by the
Apostle.
40. It was, therefore, far better for them to marry, and live
after the common course of the world, to be keepers at home, to
bear children, to guide the house, and so let their profession be
according to their practice, than to make a great profession of
faith in Christ, and then again turn against him by their contrary
practice, and give occasion to the adversary to speak reproach-
fully.
41. From what has been said concerning the primitive Church,
it may evidently appear, that all who were accounted believers
in that day, did not, strictly speaking, constitute that Church .
which was the real spiritual body of Christ — the temple of the
living God.
42. The Apostles were commissioned to go and teach and
baptize all nations ; and as the true and abiding seal of their di-
vine commission, they themselves were first baptized with the
Holy Spirit and fire. And being baptized with, and into one
and the same Spirit into which Christ Jesus was baptized, they
were able to follow his example, and to teach others to follow
them, as they followed Christ.
43. But were all the nations baptized ? Did all receive their
testimony? Did all follow the same example? In nowise, icor.iis.
It is evident throughout the writings of the Apostles, that there
were many unto whom the preaching of the cross was foolishness.
And even many who believed, or professed to believe in Christ,
walked directly contrary to his example. Of this sort St. Paul
wrote, in his epistle to the Philippians.
44. After having exhorted them, " Brethren, he ye follotcers Phil. m. 17-
of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye have us for an en-
sample : he adds, for many walk, of ivhom I have told you often,
and noiv tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of
the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is
their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly
things.''''
* This word is the same as before translated icidows, and it is wresting tho
scripture to render it women.
102 THE ATTAINMENTS OP B. III.
CHAPTER VI.
THE ATTAINMENTS OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
chap. vi. Whatever they were called, who professed faith in Christ,
whether believers, disciples, brethren, Christians, Churches, or
saints ; none, strictly speaking, were the true followers of Christ,
but such as received his word and continued therein, were bap-
tized with the Holy Spirit, were led by that Spirit, and followed
the very example of Christ Jesus in all his moral perfections.
2. Christ came to bring salvation from sin, and to release
souls from the bondage and condemnation of it ; and he taught
his followers how to obtain that inestimable prize of true felicity
and eternal life. And this salvation, which is the very essence
of all moral perfection, was attainable only by keeping all his
commandments, as he kept the commandments of his Father.
John, xv. As Jesus said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide
10- in my love ; even as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in his love."
3. Hence his true followers who copied his example, could
l.Tolm i. freely testify to others, " That which we have seen and heard
3-7. declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us :
and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ."
4. " Cod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we
say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we
lie, and do not the truth : But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
(that is the life) of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin."
chap ii 4- 5. " He that saith I know him, and keepeth not his command-
6 ments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected : hereby know
we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him, ought
himself also so to walk, even as he" [Jesus Christ] "walked."
chap. iii.7; 6. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
8- righteousness is righteous, even as he" [Jesus Christ] "is righte-
ous. He that committeth sin is of the devil ; for the devil sinneth
from the beginning."
chap. iv. 7. "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one
12, 13. another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he
3hap' v'~* hath given us of Ids Spirit. By this we know that we love the
B. III. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 103
children of God, when we love God, and keep his command- CHAP- vr-
ments. For this is the love of God, that toe keep his command-
ments; and his commandments are not grievous."
8. Here is the character of a true follower of Christ — a tran-
script of the moral perfections of the Son of God — a true copy
of his holy life, transcribed by obedience, by receiving his word,
his commandments, and his Spirit, and walking therein, even as
he walked. Herein was the whole law fulfilled, not in Christ
Jesus only, but in every one of his true followers.
9. Thus, while sin and death reigned from Adam to Moses,
and the Law brought wrath and condemnation, and made, as it
were, the very life of the transgressor, offensive to God ; Christ
Jesus came and burst the bands of sin and death, and brought
forth the prisoners out of their prison-houses, and the captives
out of their dungeons, saying, in the language of the Spirit,
Deny yourselves, and follow me.
10. And, by obedience to his commands, following his ex-
ample, and walking even as he walked, salvation from sin was
obtained by every one of his true followers. They dwelt in the
love of God, and fulfilled the whole Law, to a much more per-
fect degree than was ever done before on earth.
11. Such then, were the nature and effects of man's redemp-
tion, brought to light by the Gospel of Christ Jesus, and mani-
fested to his church, his true followers, and members of his
body, who saw, and tasted, and handled of " the Word of life,"
12. The work of Redemption by Christ, in his followers, did
not consist in any change in the position of their natural bodies,
but in the disposition of their souls. Their dispositions, affec-
tions, lives, and maimers, were changed by the Spirit of God,
through faith in Christ, aud obedience to his law.
13. The nature and work of redemption, is a perfect contrast
to the nature and manner of man's fall from his primitive
rectitude.
14. The first Adam lost his union and relation to God, by
disobedience to his righteous law, and became a captive to the
desires and works of the flesh ; and all his posterity, being
begotten in that nature, were led captive by the same, and con-
' tinued to fall with him, in the same line of disobedience.
15. Christ, the second Adam, who was manifested as the
beginning of the new creation in Jesus, and by whom all things Heb. i. 2.
were made and created, did not come to condemn mankind, but
to redeem and save them from that which was their loss and
separation from God, and to create them anew in his likeness. Eilh- "■ 10-
16. And therefore Jesus set the example of perfect obedience to
the law of God his Father, and of complete self-denial, and a
final cross against all the carnal desires of the flesh, and the
actual works of natural generation. Aud all his true followers
104 THE ATTAINMENTS OP B. III.
chap, vi. found their union and relation to God, through Christ, in the
same line of obedience with him.
17. And herein it was, that he and his kingdom, and his true
followers, were not of this world. And herein lay the secret
cause of all the enmity between those who were born after the
flesh, and those who were born again, of the Spirit. For this, the
very spirit and life of Jesus Christ was hated.
John, iii. 18- God did not hate the world, but " so loved the world,
1(i- that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe th in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
19. He created man at the beginning for his own honor and
glory ; and in his first creation, as he was made in the image
and likeness of his Creator, there was nothing in his soul, or
body, that was offensive to the pure nature of God who created
him. But man received, by his disobedience, a foul and rebel-
Jas iv 5. lious spirit against God, which lusted to envy: it was this that
ever stood in opposition to God's holy and pure law, and was
the object of his just indignation.
2 Tim ii 20. By this, the soul, with all its noble affections, was led
26. captive by the devil into sin; but ever remained the object of
God's love, and became punishable only as it yielded to the in-
fluence of sin.
21. Through the influence of this foul and rebellious spirit,
the natural body, with all its faculties, became polluted, and
directed to an evil use, contrary to the law of God. But the
natural body, simply considered in itself, remained the same
after the fall as it was before, with all its form, natural pro-
perties and qualities, and only shared with the soul in its punish-
ments, by reason of sin.
22. The natural body of man, comprehending male and female,
being of the earth, earthy, and created for time, stood in need
of temporal food for its subsistence, before the fall, as well as
after. And so in regard to the formation of his body, and its
natural properties for the increase of posterity, simply considered
in itself, there was no change, it remained the same after the
fall as it was before : the change was in his inclination to sinful
actions, and in his obedience thereto.
23. In the beginning " God saw every thing that he had made,
and behold it was very good;" and He has never found any
fault with his own work ; but, as man had corrupted himself and
the earth, by reason of sin, therefore God promised to create
2 Pet. iii. new heavens, and a new earth, wherein should dwell righteous-
ness.
24. When therefore the law went to condemn any property,
which was necessary in the natural creation, as sinful or unclean,
either in male or female, it was not because there was any evil
in the thing simply considered in itself; but because it was cor-
13
B. III. PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 105
rupted, and must be redeemed from that corruption before it chap, vi.
could ever come into the new creation.
25. The Son of man himself, who by regeneration became the first Heb. h-. 15.
born of God, and the Redeemer of mankind, although he was not
of this world, yet he was found in fashion like other men, touch-
ed with a feeling of their infirmities, and tempted in all points
as they were, subject to hunger, and weariness, and stood in need
of temporal subsistence. But he " knew no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth."
26. " It is enough" said Jesus, " that the disciple be as his .Mat. x. 25.
master, and the servant as his lord." "But every one that is Luke, vi.
perfect, shall be as his master." And in his prayer to his Father 40'
for his disciples, he says, " They are not of the world, even as I John, xvii.
am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldst take them ' '
out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.''''
27. And hence the words of the Apostle, " The very God of l Thes. v.
peace sanctify you wholly : and I pray God your tvhole spirit 23'
and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ."
28. The Apostle did not pray that God would change the form
or properties of their bodies, or the faculties of their souls from
what he had made them at the beginning ; nor did he pray that
the corruption of nature might be sanctified ; but that their souls
and bodies, which at the beginning were innocent, and lovely,
might be wholly sanctified and cleansed from sin, — the cause of
every corruption and offence.
29. Christ Jesus was a man^ who had no other bodily appear-
ance than that of other men. And his followers were men and
women, like other men and women, who possessed all their for-
mer organizations, and faculties of body and mind with which
they were at first created. But the change which was wrought
in the followers of Christ, by the Gospel, consisted in their being
saved from sin ; and that the cause of every offence between God
and them was removed.
30. And, by receiving his word, and abiding in it, they received
his Spirit, and had power to become the sons of God, and joint-
heirs with Jesus Christ in his kingdom ; were freely justified by
his grace ; and were no longer under the guilt and condemnation
of the law. As it is written, " There is therefore, now no con- Rom. viii.
demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after x~i0^
the flesh, but after the Spirit." They are made free from the
law of sin and death, by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
31. The law could never save the soul from sin ; and therefore
the guilt and condemnation of sin remained ; it was weak through
the flesh, because those who were under it, lived in the gratifi-
cation of the flesh.
8
10G THE ATTAINMENTS OP THE B. III.
chap. vi. 32. Hence it is written: "What the law could not do, in
' that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin" [original, by a sacrifice
for sin] "condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit."
33. "For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of
the flesh : but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the
Spirit. For to be carnally" [fleshly] " minded is death ; but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace: Because the carnal"
[fleshly] " mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are
in the flesh cannot please God."
34. " But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be
that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin ;" [Christ and sin cannot dwell
together ; where he has the lead and government of the mind,
the body is dead and inactive to sin;] "but the spirit is alive
because of righteousness."
35. This answers to what the Apostle had before stated, when
he showed what it was to be crucified and dead with Christ.
Rom. vi.e- " Knowing that our old man is crucified with him, that the body
of sin" [not the natural body, nor any part or property of it]
" might be destroyed,, thai henceforth we should not serve sin.
for he that is dead" [to sin] " is freed from sin."
36. " Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed
unto sin; but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your
members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield
yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead ; and
your members instruments of righteousness unto God."
Rom. vi. 37. " For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are
14-16. not uncier the law, but under grace. What then ? shall we sin
because we are not under the law, but under grace ?" [Gr. Mtj
ygvoiTo.] Let it not be. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to uihom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
38. Did then the Gospel of Jesus Christ come to count all
mankind under grace who did not come under its influence ? In
nowise. The distinction is made plain between those who are
yet under the law, and those who are under grace.
39. " The law was given because of sin, that the offence might
abound," (i.e. might be made manifest,) and served as a school-
John, i. 17. master, until faith and obedience, grace and truth, were made
manifest by Jesus Christ. And after Christ came, those who
13.
Gal. v. 24
20.
Acts, xiii.
B. III. PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 107
received hirn by faith, and became his by obedience, were no chap, vi.
longer under that school-master, but were under grace.
40. But who were released from that school-master ? Those
who continued to commit sin, as 'some pretend, with a gracious
reluctance ? Nay, in nowise. For the Law was given by reason
of sin, and the testimony of the scripture, is plain and pointed :
"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to Roffi iiL
them who are under the law ; that every mouth may be stopped, 19.
and all the ivorld may become guilty before God."
41. And again: " Whosoever committeth sin trausgresseth Uoim, iii.
also the law ; for sin is the transgression of the latv." There- ' '
fore we conclude, that whosoever liveth in sin, whether he be
called Gentile, Jew, or Christian, he is yet under the guilt and
condemnation of the Law, and has no part in Christ; neither phil. iii. 10.
knoweth him, in the power of his resurrection.
42. And, as the Law of Moses was given to convey the know-
ledge of sin, that all the world might become guilty before God,
therefore, by the deeds of the law, shall no flesh be justified in Rom. iii.
his sight. But by Christ all that believe, are justified from all
things, from which they could not be justified by the law of 39.
Moses.
43. " Christ is become the end of the lavj for righteousness to Rom. x. 4.
everyone iAa^BELiEVETH;" and " hebecame the author of eternal Heb.v.o.
salvation to all them that obey him," Therefore, there is no
difference; all who believe and obey him, are equally justified
in his sight, and equally accepted of him, whether male or female,
bond or free, Jew or Creek; and " the righteousness of the lata
is fulfilled in them, because they walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit."
44. And it is through the Spirit they mortify and crucify the Rom. riii.
deeds of the body, and live unto Cod. "For as many as are GaLv. is
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," and are not 24.
under the law, but are made free, and set at liberty, being the
children of Cod, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
45. What, then, because they are made free from the Law, Col. i. 20.
by the Spirit and cross of Christ, shall they therefore live any GaL V1" 14'
longer in the gratification of the flesh ? Nay, in nowise ; their
liberty, and their peace, is through the cross of Christ, by whom
the world is crucified unto them, and they unto the world.
46. Hence said the Apostle, "Ye have been called unto chap. v. 13,
liberty: only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by
love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in this one
word ; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.''''
47. For the greatest reason, then, because the Spirit of Christ
dwells in them, by which the whole Law is fulfilled, the Apostle
concludes, '■'■Therefore, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live Rom. viii.
after the flesh."
14.
12.
108
THE ORDER AND POWER OP
B. III.
CHAP.
VII.
Gal. v. 22.
23.
48. And as the tree is known by its fruit, so the Spirit by
which the primitive Church was led, was evidently distinguished
by such fruits as are briefly summed up by the Apostle, namely:
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek-
ness, temperance: against such there is no law.
CHAPTER VII.
THE ORDER AND POWER OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
John, iii.
13.
Acts, ii. 31.
John, xiv.
9-11.
chap. iii.
35.
v. 22, 23,
26, 27.
John, ix
xiv. 6.
Col. i. 19.
ii. 9.
5.
Christ Jesus our Saviour, during the time of his ministry on
earth, took great pains to instruct his disciples, concerning the
design of his coming into the world ; the nature of his kingdom ;
the order and place in which he stood, as the light of the world ;
the salt or Saviour of the earth, for their salvation and redemp-
tion; and, for the same purpose, the order in which his Church
should stand as his body, after his decease, or departure from
them.
2. " No man hath ascended up into heaven," said Jesus Christ,
" but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, who is
in heaven. He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father. Believe
me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." Here was
Cod and heaven made manifest on earth.
3. "The Father himself loveth the Son, and hath given all
things into his hand. The Father judgeth no man : but hath com-
mitted all judgment unto the Son : that all men should honor
the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not
the Son, honoreth not the Father which sent him."
4. "As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to
the Son to have life in himself ; and hath given him authority
to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." He
is the Son of man, because he is the true descendant and heir
of man according to his original innocent order ; thus having
inherited the highest human faculties, and subdued and devoted
them to the will of Cod. He is the Dispenser of Divine justice,
and in this manner takes the lead and government of man's
affections, and is therefore capable of exercising true judgment,
in opposition to the man of sin, the son of perdition.
5. "As long as I am in the world," said Jesus, "I am the
light of the world ; I am the way, and the truth, and the life : no
B. III. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 109
man conieth unto the Father hut by me." From all which, it CyI^R
is evident, that in his human hody and soul dwelt the true Christ,
the fullness of God the Father, pertaining to man's redemption.
G. Through the same power and authority of the Holy Spirit
with which Jesus was invested, he commanded his disciples,
saying, " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go j^^jjf™1-
ye therefore, and teach all nations."' And he promised to endow
them with the same power to perform their mission : which pro-
mise he fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.
7. And, as his disciples and immediate followers, stood nearest
to him in point of union, therefore the descent of the Holy
Spirit was properly the descent of the same anointing that he
had ; so that whatever order, lot, or office he had received from
the Father, relative to the world, the same pertained also to the
Church who received of his fullness, and through them must be
propagated.
8. Then they knew in truth, that the Father was in Christ, and j0hn,xiv.
he in them, and they in him ; and that they had both the Father 20-
and the Son. Then God, and Christ, and the Church, became
one. And such as believed and were baptized with the Holy 4 5™* xu"
Spirit, being of one heart and of one soul, were the true body of Eph. i.22,
Christ, and members in particular; members of his body, of his chap. v. 30.
flesh, and of his bones, because his Spirit dwelt in human
tabernacles as his body.
9. So that, according to the measure of that Dispensation,
the Church was as really the body of Christ, — a body as really
anointed, as the man Jesus was, while visible on the earth;
and God did as really dwell in the one as in the other.
10. And, as Christ was the only light of the world, the only
salt of the earth, by which men could be saved, and was now
really and actually in the Church as his true body, he in them,
and they in him, and they were perfect, in one; therefore they
were now the only light of the world, the only salt of the earth.
11. Of this Jesus had told them while he was yet with them,
before the Holy Spirit was given, saying, "Ye are the salt of Mat. v. 13,
the earth ; but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it
be salted ? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out
and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid."
12. By which, he plainly intimated the order in which they
were to stand, with regard to the salvation of others, and that
the world could not be saved without them. And as the salt of
the earth is the only saviour of the body, that is the members of
the Church, so all the salvation that was within the reach of the
world, was in the Church, and the Church remained to be the
only true Saviour of the world, according to the sayings of
Christ Jesus.
14.
110
THE ORDER AND POWER OF
B. III.
chap.
VII.
John, xiv.
m.
xvii. 11, 22,
23.
Mat. xviii.
18-20.
John, xiv.
12.
John, xx.
23.
2 Cor. ii.
10.
1 Cor. v. 4,
5.
1 Thes. iv.
7,8.
John, xii.
43, 49.
13. "Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but
ye see me : because I live, ye shall live also. And now I am no
more in the world. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have
given them; that they maybe one, even as we are one: I in
them, and thou in me."
14. Hence the Church was in possession of what Christ called
the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; for heaven was really upon
earth, in them, and they sat in heavenly places, with Christ
Jesus. And this order Jesus gave them, when he said to the
Church, " Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose
on earth, shall be loosed in heaven."
15. "Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree
on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be
done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them."
16. Now, although the world could see the Son of man no
more in the body or flesh of Jesus, yet his power, which he had
while visible on earth, was not diminished in his followers, but
increased, according to his promise, "Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that believeth on me," [and keepeth my command-
ments,] "the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
17. And that power was not diminished after Jesus left the
world; the true and real members of the Church or body of
Christ, had the same power on earth that Jesus had ; according
to his words, " Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted u?ito
them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."
18. Hence says the Apostle to the Corinthians, " To whom ye
forgive any thing, I forgive also : for if I forgave any thing, to
whom I forgave it," [Gr. Sia u/xS?,] by you "forgave I it, in the
person of Christ." And again, "In the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with
the power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such an one to Satan."
19. Thus it is evident that the Church and messengers of
Christ stood in his very character, and acted by the very same
spirit and power of the Lord Jesus, which he had received from
his Father, and given unto them. Whatsoever they taught, was
taught of God; and whosoever received, despised, or rejected
them, received, despised, or rejected not man, but God.
20. Hence the words of the Apostle, " God hath not called us
to uncleanness, but unto holiness. He, therefore, that despiseth,
[or rejecteth,] despiseth [or rejecteth] not man, but God."
"He that rejecteth me, said Jesus, and receiveth not my words,
hath one that judgeth him: the "WORD that I have spoken, the
same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of
B. III.
THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
Ill
myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a command-
ment what I should say, and what I should speak."
21. And whatsoever Jesus Christ spake of himself, pertained
also to his followers ; for all that the Father gave unto him, he
gave unto them, even eternal life; as he expresses it in his
address to the Father.
22. "Now they have known that all things, whatsoever thou
hast given me, are of thee. For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me, and they have received them. I
pray for them, I pray not for the world. Sanctify them through
thy truth ; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I sent them into the world. Neither pray I
for these alone, hut for them also which shall believe on me
through their word,. And the glory which thou gavest me, I
have given them ; that they may be one, even as toe are one : I
in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast
loved them, as thou hast loved me."
23. In the same order in which his Father had placed him,
he also placed them, as his joint body, and endowed them with
the same power and authority.
24. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whom-
soever I send, receiveth me ; and he that receiveth me, receiveth
him that sent me. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I
you." Then, as the Father was revealed in Christ; so in the
same manner is Christ revealed in his Church, as his true body.
And as God is the Head of Christ ; so is Christ Jesus the Head
of his Church.
25. And as whatever was done by Christ, was done by the
Father; so, whatever is done by the true Church and body of
Christ, is done by Christ himself.
26. And as the Father judged no man, but committed all
judgment to the Son; so in like manner, when the Son had
finished the work on earth which was given him to do, he com-
mitted all judgment to the saints, in whom he promised to dwell,
and out of the Church he judgeth no man. Know ye not, saith
the Apostle, that the saints shall judge the worlds
27. And as "no man hath seen God at any time; but the
only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, hath de-
clared him;" so no man hath seen the Son in his glorified state,
at any time ; but his only begotten saints, who are in him, and
he in them, they have declared him in his true character. Cod
is a Spirit, and cannot be seen, known, or worshipped, but by
and in the Spirit. " For the things of God knoweth no man, but
the Spirit of God."
28. Then, as Christ, that is, the Anointing Spirit, with which
Jesus was anointed, alone really knew the Father, being a q?iick~
CHAP.
VII.
John. xvii.
7-9. & 17,
18, & 20,
22, 23.
John, xiii.
20. & xx.
21, 23.
John, v. 22.
1 Cor. vi. 2.
1 Cor. ii.
11.
112 THE ORDER AND POWER OP B. III.
chap, ening Spirit, one with the Father ; it is evident that no man can
, know the things of Christ, but by the Spirit of Christ, which
Spirit is in all his truly begotten followers.
29. The Church, or body of saints, which Christ himself had
spiritually begotten, which were in his bosom, as he was in the
bosom of the Father, was the only salt of the earth — the light of
the world — the only house, or temple of the living Grod on earth,
and the only pillar and ground of truth among men : therefore it
was impossible for any soul to find God or Christ to salvation,
in any other place, or through any other medium, than through
the Church, or saints, the true members of his body, in which he
dwelt.
Acts, x. l- 80. This is clearly proved by the case of '■'■Cornelius, the
centurion, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his
house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God
alway." But he was not yet saved. And the angel who came
to Cornelius, could inform him that his prayers and alms were
come up for a memorial before God, and intimate to him that he
was not yet saved, and that in order to obtain salvation, he must
send for Simon Peter.
31. But why could not the angel administer salvation to him,
without being beholden to Peter? The truth is, it was not in
his power; that power was committed unto the Church, as hath
been shown.
32. Salvation was only in and by Christ, and Christ, from the
beginning, had not taken on him the nature of angels, but the
seed of Abraham, and was, and still continued to be manifested
in the flesh, and dwelt in his temple or earthly tabernacle, where
he promised to dwell.
33. Therefore the most that the angel could do for this devout
man, was to inform him where he could find an entrance into the
kingdom of heaven, and direct him to that temple, or habitation
of God, from which the lata of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
could be communicated.
34. And as Peter was a real member of the body of Christ,
who had Christ the Word and power of salvation, and eternal
life dwelling in him, according to the work of that day, with
authority to transmit the same to others ; therefore the angel
Acts.xi. ga^ i0 Cornelius, "Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon,
whose surname is Peter, who shall tell thee words, whereby thou
and all thy house shall be saved."
35. And, when Peter came to Cornelius, and those who were
with him, and preached unto them that Word, which he had in
him, which God had appointed to be the judge of both quick and
dead, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as it did on the Apostles at
the beginning ; and they were translated from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan into the kingdom of heaven upon earth.
B. III.
THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
113
36. By this circum stance, together with what has been said,
it is verified beyond all contradiction, that unto the angels
God hath not subjected the world to come, or the building of his
habitation among men. Nor was there any angel, or spirit, in
heaven or on earth, that could open and administer the true way
and power of salvation and eternal life, but that Spirit and power
which abode in the Church.
37. It was in the Church that Christ was set upon the right
hand of the Father, in heavenly places, far above all principality
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come.
Here Grod the Father put all things under his feet, and " Christ
was given to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is
his body, the fulness ot him that filleth all in all."
38. And that the Church was the only medium, through which
the Gospel of salvation and eternal life could be administered to
mankind, is also manifest from the conversion of Saul of Tarsus,
while on his way to Damascus, breathing out threatnings and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, when he was arrested
by a shining light.
39. Christ is the true light, who, coming into the world,
enlighteneth • every man. But the light that shone upon Saul
blinded him : and moreover no man can even call Jesus Lord,
and much less sec him, but by the Holy Spirit. And Saul
neither received his sight, nor the Holy Spirit, until three days
after, when he received both, through Ananias a member of
Christ's body.
40. But &aul himself relates his seeing a vision, and hearing a
voice, saying, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou nieV No doubt
Paul saw a vision of Jesus. But who was he then persecuting ?
Not that light that struck him blind, nor that voice that reproved
him. These he respected as the glory and voice of the Lord, as
much as his fathers had respected the cloud of glory which cov-
ered the mercy-seat; but Christ in his real habitation he had
not respected, but persecuted him in the true members of his
body.
41. He had persecuted Christ in Stephen the martyr, and he
had persecuted him in those men and women, whom he had
hauled forth and committed to prison. And it was only in the
members of Christ, that he, or any other, could either love or
hate him, bless or curse him, receive or reject him; according
to Christ's own words : Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.
42. And therefore, as Christ dwelt nowhere for true salvation
to men, but in his living witnesses, the vision could only direct
him where to find Christ, and through whom he must receive his
CHAR
VII.
Heb. ii. 5.
Compare
Eph. i. 3.
willi 20-23.
Acts, ix. 1-
3.
Acts, ix. 4.
Mat. xxv.
40, 45.
114 TIIE ORDER AND POAVER OP, &C. B. III.
c^p- instructions, saying, "Arise and go into the citi/, and it shall
be told thee, what thou must do.'"
Aots/ix.6, 43. When therefore Saul was obedient to the heavenly vision,
and Ananias also followed the instructions which he had received
through another vision, and actually laid his hands on Saul, in
the very Spirit and power of that Jesus Christ whom he had seen
in vision on the way, then Saul received his sight, and was filled
with the Holy Spirit; and then, and not till then, did he know
Christ ; and, abiding certain days with the disciples, straightway
he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of
God.
44. It is evident, that, by finding his union to Ananias, a
member of the Church, he found his union to Christ, and be-
came himself a member of Christ's body, and a joint-heir to the
promised inheritance. And thus, having Christ in him, he was
thereby qualified to preach, among the Gentiles, the same Gos-
pel of salvation and eternal life, and to administer the same to
others, which he himself had received, not as of man's wisdom,
but as a medium of revelation, through the Divine Spirit of
Christ.
Gal. i. n. 45. Hence he says to the Galatians : "I certify, brethren, that
the Gospel which was preached of me, is not after man. For I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ."
46. And in the same sense the Galatians received him, not
as man, but " as an angel, even as Christ Jesus." And to
chap. iv. the Thessalonians he says, " When ye received the word of God
i Thes. ii. which ye heard OP us, ye received it not as the word of men, but
!3j 14. (as it is in truth) the word of God. For ye became followers of
the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus."
• 47. Thus the Gospel of salvation, in its spirit and power, was
conveyed from the living witnesses and members of Christ's body,
to those who had it not ; and among those who received faith,
the younger copied the example of the elder; and by the one
undivided Spirit which they received, they became one in Christ,
as Christ and God are one.
Coi. i .25- 48. It was "the Word of God, even the mystery, which had
3 ' "' ' been hid from ages, and from generations, that was made mani-
2Cor.iv.6, fest unto the saints — which is Christ in you, saith the Apostle,
the hope of glory ; the mystery of God, and of the Father, and
of Christ ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge." And this treasure was committed to earthen
vessels.
49. Then, where else could that wisdom and knowledge be
found, but in that mystery? and where could that mystery be
found, but in those earthen vessels to whom it was committed?
There is no salvation in any other, but in Christ Jesus, as it is
i
B. III. THE RISE AND DOMINION OF, &C. 115
written, "For there is no other name under heaven, given among c^frp"
men whereby we must be saved." ,
50. And as Christ Jesus was revealed, and made manifest for Acts, iv.
salvation, in his saints only, and unto them was committed all 12'
power to remit and retain sin, and all that pertained to eternal
life and godliness ; therefore, without the boundary of the Church,
true salvation was never found; nor, separate from it, could one
soul ever find deliverance from the reigning power of sin.
51. And hence the words of St. Peter are verified: "Accord- 2 Pet. i. 3.
ing as his divine power hath given unto us all things that per-
tain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that
hath called us to glory and virtue." And hence also those of
St. John: "We know that we are of God, and that the whole
world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of G-od 19,20.'
is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know
him that is true ; and toe are in him that is true, even in his Son
Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
CHAPTER VIII..
THE RISE AND DOMINION OF ANTICHRIST PREDICTED.
It is certain that neither Christ nor the Apostles expected the
continuance of that order and power, in which the primitive
Church stood ; for the order of its foundation was not completed ;
but on every occasion, spoke of the work in which they were
engaged, as not only subject to be corrupted, but plainly fore-
told that it would be supplanted, by a false spirit and power,
which would prevail against the truth, and overcome the saints
for a certain limited time.
2. And in this, the spirit of prophecy which was in them, agreed
with the predictions of the Prophets, who had spoken of the suf-
ferings of Christ, and of a beastly dominion that would arise,
and make war against the saints of the Most High, and overcome
and triumph over them for a season, before the ultimate glory of
Christ's kingdom should be fully established.
3. The Prophet Daniel gives a very plain and striking repre- D;m j; „
sentation of this, in opening Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the 45.
image, which represented four oppressive kingdoms, or earthly
governments, the last of which was to be more universally des-
tructive to the saints than any of the former.
116
THE RISE AND DOMINION OP
B. III.
CHAP.
VI H.
Daii. vii.
chap. ix. &
xii.
Ezekiel
xxxviii. &
xxxix.
Mat. xxiv
Mark, xiii.
& Luke,
xxi.
2 Thes. ii.
3.
1 Tim. iv.
1.
Rev. ii. iii.
Rev. xiii.
Rev. xvii.
4. The same was also shown by the vision of four great beasts,
the last of which was dreadful and terrible, and prefigured an
oppressive power that was to devour the whole earth, and tread
it down, and break it in pieces.
5. To Daniel also was pointed out the cutting off of the Mes-
siah ; the taking away of the daily sacrifice ; the setting up of
the abomination, which would make the truth desolate ; and the
period of time it would stand. And most of the Prophets, par-
ticularly Ezekiel, have spoken of the same things.
0. Christ Jesus, in his instructions to his disciples, is ATery
pointed, in showing them, not only that his work of that day
would be supplanted, but by whom, and in what manner it would
be effected.
7. He forewarns them of the coming of false christs, [i.e.
antichrist,] and false prophets, who would shew signs and won-
ders, and if it were possible, deceive the very elect; that many
(not a few) would come in his name, saying I am Christ, and
would deceive many.
8. He also forewarns them that Jerusalem [literally and
spiritually] would be compassed about with armies, and finally
taken; and that the abomination of desolation spoken of, would
be set up in that very city which the saints had possessed, and
from which they should flee as from the deepest sink of cor-
ruption.
9. And St. Paul, in his epistle to the Thessalonians, concern-
ing the day of Christ's second coming, says, "That day shall
not come, except there, come first a falling away." And to Tim-
othy, the Apostle wrote of the Spirit's speaking expressly, that
in the latter times some would depart, [or stand off] from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
10. St. John also, in the latter days of his time, represents
the true Church, in his book of Revelation, as already swiftly on
the decline, as may be seen by his solemn warnings to the seven
churches of Asia.
11. He likewise describes the growing pow^r of corruption and
oppression, under the figure of two wild beasts, the first as com-
ing up out of the sea, and the second out of the earth, which ex-
ercised all the power of the first, to show the continuance of the
same beastly power in another form.
12. And lastly, he represents his whole compound of mon-
strous wickedness, under the figure of a scarlet colored beast,
whose power was universal, carrying a '■'■Mother of Harlots,"
with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and lived
deliriously.
13. It is clearly manifest, from all that is recorded in Church
History, that such an apostasy did take place, as entirely ex-
cluded the Spirit and power of Christ from what was called his
B. III.
ANTICHRIST PREDICTED.
11'
Church, and that a false spirit and power prevailed in that church,
for many ages, after the days of the Apostles.
14. But it may be asked, whether this church really descended
from the primitive Church of Christ, and had still a measure of
the same Spirit ? or whether it originated wholly from another
source? or whether God had a people in that Church, distinct
from the main body of professors ? or whether there was a pure
Church preserved on the earth, vested with the Apostolic power,
altogether distinct from that corrupt body ? These are questions
which have furnished matter of great debate, and many re-
searches ; but could never be decided by all the powers of argu-
ment.
15. For the prophecies, being mostly sealed up under the
figurative language of the inspired writers, were liable to any ap-
plication which the ingenuity of the learned might contrive ; they
were therefore not intended to be understood, any faster than
they were actually fulfilled, that the truth of things might be
established by an appeal to matters of fact. As said the angel
to the prophet Daniel, " Go thy way Daniel ; for the words are
closed up and sealed till the time of the end.''''
16. Therefore, as " the time of the end" is actually come, in
which those predictions concerning antichrist have had their time
and accomplishment, it will be proper and necessary to discover
the true source and influence of that false power called antichrist,
by which the nations and kingdoms of the earth were deceived for
ages, and brought into bondage the most wicked and oppressive :
and by which the cause of true virtue was trodden under foot,
and became unknown; that now " the thoughts of many hearts
may be revealed.''''
17. Many persons have supposed that a true Church of Christ
existed through all the dark and deplorable reign of antichrist ;
and ecclesiastical writers have labored much to prove this posi-
tion, and to trace out such a church in the line of certain indi-
viduals and sects, to the Reformation. While the Catholics have
maintained that their institution was the legitimate descendant
from the primitive Church, and that therefore, it has been the
true and infallible Church to this clay. But all their labor could
never prove that which is so utterly inconsistent with the predic-
tions of Christ and his Apostles, and with the authentic facts
which will be brought to light in the succeeding pages.
18. Let the candid reader bear in mind, first, that Jesus Christ
predicted to his disciples: "The days will come when ye shall
desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not
see it. Then, if any man shall say to you, Lo ! here is Christ,
or Lo ! he is there ; believe him not. Behold he is in the desert ;
go ye not forth. Behold he is in the secret chamber ; believe
it not. Go not after, nor follow them."
CHAP.
VIII
Acts, xx.
29. 30.
2 Pet. ii. 1,
10,14.
chap. iii. 3,
4
1 John, ii.
18 iv. 3.
2 John. 7.
Jnde, 4. 18.
Dan. xii.
Luke, ii.
35.
lUnt xxiv.
23. 24.
Luke, xvii.
22, 23.
xxi. 8.
118
THE RISE AND DOMINION OP, &C.
B. III.
CHAP
VIII.
Col. i. 27.
Mark, xiii.
14.
2 Thes. ii.
34.
19. Then, if there was a time when Christ could nowhere be
found on earth, and that none could be believed nor followed upon
the ground of such a testimony, it follows conclusively, that
neither a true Church, nor any messenger who possessed the real
Christ could be found on earth during that time. For the Church
is his visible body. Therefore, if Christ had had a true Church,
he could certainly have been found in that Church ; his Divine
Spirit must have been in it, as "his body." Those only who
have "Christ in them as the hope of glory," can say in truth,
"Lo ! here is Christ."
20. Now as this time was to follow " the abomination of deso-
lation, being set up and standing where it ought not," it is evi-
dent that this is the abomination of antichrist, or "man of sin,"
being set up, and standing in the Church which possessed the
Christian name, which was truly "standing where it ought not."
The candid mind cannot reasonably suppose that this would refer
to the setting up of the Roman idols iu the temple, and the de-
solation of Jerusalem, except as a figure of the setting up of anti-
christ by the same people.
21. For when we consider the abominable wickedness of the
Jews, and their crucifying the Saviour, rejecting his Gospel, and
persecuting his followers, we must see that their desolation was
just; therefore, it stood where it ought, instead of where it ought
not. Hence, from these premises, it incontestibly follows that
so lono- as antichrist, with his abominations, that make souls
desolate of the power of salvation, was set up and dwelt in the
great orthodox church, and by its power prevented any people
from maintaining the order and power of the Primitive Church,
Christ could not possibly have a true Church on earth.
22. Secondly. Let the reader candidly consider the facts
brought to light in the succeeding pages, taken from the most
authentic histories, and from the confessions of all the different
sects which have sprung up, since Pope Leo was established, and
he will easily see, that not one of them all maintained the cha-
racter of the primitive Church. Although some of those called
heretics, for a time supported, in a good degree, the principles
of primitive Christianity, yet they soon became corrupted, and
all finally fell into union with the kingdom of antichrist, and be-
came blended with the world.
23. And it is clearly evident, that the great popular sects,
whether Catholic or Protestant, have been founded and governed
by those principles which are as opposite to the faith and princi-
ples of the Gospel of Christ, as the spirit of the corrupt world, is
to the spirit of the heavenly world, and as contrary as is the flesh
to the spirit of Christ ; or as war and bloodshed is contrary to
peace and love, yea, and as pride and lust are to purity, meek-
ness and holiness.
THE TESTIMONY
OF
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
-0>-»4-^-
BOOK IV.
THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF ANTICHRIST'S KINGDOM.
CHAPTER I.
THE WORK OF ANTICHRIST, BY FALSE TEACHERS.
The word antichrist, was first used by the Apostles; and, chap. i.
doubtless, the occasiou to it, arose in their day. This singular '
name is compounded of these two Greek words, otv<n and X£'£°?>* */»''and
which signify against Christ ; so that the term antichrist, in-
cludes whatever is against Christ ; but was originally intended
to apply, more particularly, to such, as under a pretence of act-
ing in the name of Christ, acted with a spirit directly against the
Spirit of Christ.
2. Therefore this term, as used by the Apostles, had no
reference to the superstitious Jews, nor idolatrous Pagans, who
made no profession of faith in Christ ; but was generally confined
to such as, through a pretence of faith in Christ, and obedience
to the Gospel, claimed an interest in the affairs of the Church,
and thereby took occasion to pervert and corrupt it. And, as
there were many of this description, who rose up in the days of
the Apostles, St. John expressly says, Even now are there is.° '
many antichrists ; ichereby we know that it is the last time.
3. As if he had said, There are already many in the world,
who profess Christ, but do not possess him ; who own him in
words, but deny him in works ; who talk about the spirit, but
walk after the flesh ; and confess not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh; " this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have 1 John, iv.
heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the
Rom. x. 12.
120 THE WORK OF ANTICHRIST, B. IV.
chap. L world; " whereby we know that it is the last time Satan shall
ever take the advantage of a revelation from heaven, to corrupt
and supplant the work of God, as these hypocrites are doing.
4. From this it is evident, that antichrist was not a particular
man, but a spirit, which assumed the name and authority of
Christ, and made its way into many deceitful and false-hearted
men, who pretended to be the followers of Christ, while their
practice was pointedly against him.
5. According to the commission of the Apostles, the Gospel
was to be preached to every creature, and no distinction was to
be made between the Jew and the Greek, the learned and the
unlearned ; and as it was received, at least in word, by all
characters ; so none were prohibited from teaching to others
what they themselves had learned.
6. Hence many false teachers took occasion to modify the
doctrines of Christ, according to their own carnal taste, or that
of others, and to explain them in such a manner, as to avoid
those persecutions to which the honest and faithful were exposed.
In particular, many of the Jews, whose rites and ceremonies had
become honorable in the world, continued to practise those super-
stitious rites which had no connexion with the faith or practice of
the Gospel.
7. Thus, by putting, as it were, a piece of new cloth upon the
old garment, they claimed their relation to the Church, and at
the same time retained the friendship of the world. Hence St.
Gal. v. 12. Paul observed, "As many as desire to make a fair shew in the
flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised ; only lest they should
suffer persecution for the cross of Christ."
8. Many also of the profligate Pagans, who were convicted of
the truth of the Gospel, and constrained to seek some measure of
union with the followers of Christ, early took the same deceitful
liberty of perverting the truth, and mixing it with their carnal
reasonings ; and of even introducing, under the Christian name,
their licentious doctrines, and impious festivals, and committing
such abominations as were not so much as named among other
Gentiles.
Ch. Theo. 9. Hence it is justly remarked by Osterwald, that, "in the
p. 331. days of the Apostles, there were carnal men, who, under the
pretext of grace, and Christian liberty, introduced licentiousness,
refused to suffer persecutions, and who gave themselves over to
carnal lusts. These were in a spirited manner opposed by James,
Jude, Peter, in his second epistle, and John, in his epistles, and
Revelation,"
10. As Jesus Christ began to prepare the way for his kingdom,
by teaching his followers to dxny ungodliness and worldly lusts ;
so, on the other hand, antichrist began his work, by false,
teachers, and false doctrines. Such were the first means em-
B. IV. BY FALSE TEACHERS. 121
plo}red in corrupting and weakening the truth ; and such have CIIAP- l
had a principal hand in establishing that kingdom, which is
Christ's in name, but antichrist in its very nature.
11. It was not only foreseen and testified by Christ, that such
deceitful workers would come; but the Apostles, who were
anointed from heaven as witnesses of the truth, testified that they
had already appeared in their day ; which may be seen from the
slightest examination of their writings.
12. The words of Jesus are plain : " Beware of false prophets, Mat.vii.is,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening v;olves. Ye shall know them Li/ their fruits. Take xxiv.4, 5.
heed that no man deceive you ; for many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."
13. The same thing was predicted by St. Peter, saying, CPetii. l-
" There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall ls'
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many
shall follow their pernicious ways ; by reason of whom the way
of truth shall be evil spoken of. Sporting themselves with their
own deceivings. Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot
cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls. For when they speak
great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of
the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped
from them who live in error."
14. These same false teachers, according to the testimony of
St. Jude, had already made their appearance in his day : Thus
says he, "It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort
you,, that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept jude, 3, 4.
in unawares, who were before of old ordained (described*) to
this condemnation; ungodly men, turning the grace of our G-od
into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our
Lord Jesus Christ."
15. This plainly implies that these deceivers were neither
professed Jews nor Pagans, but some among the professed fol-
lowers of Christ, who in fact denied both God and Christ, by
new modelling that precious faith and testimony of Jesus, which
had been delivered, once for all, to the Apostles, not to be
mended or expounded by human wisdom, but to be punctually
obeyed.
10. Again: St. Paul, in his last address to the Elders at Acts. xx.
Ephesus, delivers this plain prediction : "I know this, that after 29' 30-
my departing, shall grievous wolves come in among you, not
* By the expression in the original (palai progegrammenoi) maybe understood
those who were formerly described or pointed out by the spirit of prophecy,
through which the iniquities of the latter times had been foretold, together with
the judgment and condemnation that would fall upon those who lived in such
things.
9
122 THE WORK OP ANTICHRIST, B. IV.
chap. i. sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise,
speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."
Rom xvi. 17. This same Apostle warns the Romans against some, who
caused divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which they
had learned. And what had they learned, but to take up their
cross, and follow the Apostle, as he followed Christ ? To this
plain doctrine these false teachers were contrary. Therefore he
adds: " They that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but
their own belly ; and by good words and fair speeches deceive
the hearts of the simple."
18. Here the difference is visibly marked between those who
served the Lord Jesus Christ, and were obedient, and those who
Phil. iii. 19. corrupted the pure precepts of the Gospel from their original
meaning, that they might take the liberty of serving their own
beastly bellies — their lusts.
2Coriii7 •"■^- Again : To the Corinthians, he speaks of "many which
xi. 13, j5. corrupt the ivord of God, who were false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ ;
ministers of Satan, transformed as the ministers of righteous-
ness ; whose end (says the Apostle) shall be according to their
tooi-hs."
20. The same kind of deceivers he described to Timothy, as,
2 Tim. iii. "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof;
5~7, from such " (says he) " turn away. For of this sort are they
which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with
sins, led away by divers lusts ; ever learning, and never able to
come to the knowledge of the truth."
Tit.:. io, 21. And to Titus, he observed, "There are many unruly and
n, <& 16. vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teach-
ing things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. They
profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being
abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good ivork repro-
bate.'''' Can there be a plainer description of an antichrist?
22. It would be almost an endless work to enumerate the
marks which were given to distinguish these perverters of the
•2 Tim. iii. truth: they were justly called "Traitors, heady, highminded,
3'4' fierce, despisers of those that are good. Proud, knowing noth-
1Tj . lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God. Incontinent,
4,5. ing" in reality, " but doting about questions, and strifes of
words ; perverse disputers ; men of corrupt minds, and destitute
of the truth:'1
Tit. i. 12. 23. Such were the enemies of the cross of Christ, — the liars,
the evil beasts, the sloiv bellies, who were reproved sharply by
the faithful ; but whose progress was not stopped by all the
authority even of the Apostles themselves.
24. John, who outlived all the other Apostles, and had the
B. IV. BY FALSE TEACHERS. 123
greatest opportunity of seeing the increase and frnits of these cnAP- *■
false teachers, is also very particular in his testimony concern-
ing them. His three epistles, which were written near the
close of the first century, appear to have been written for the
purpose of distinguishing between the followers of Christ, and
antichrist.
25. Hence, so much is said in the first epistle, to establish
that fundamental truth, that the followers of Christ do not com-
mit sin. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that iJ<*n,iii.
• G-2-1
doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. Who-
soever abideth in him sinneth not ; whosoever sinneth hath not
seen him, neither known him. He that committeth sin is of the
devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. In this
the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil :
whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. He that keep-
eth his commandments, dwelleth in him, and he in him."
26. The whole of this epistle plainly shows, that Christ was
in his true followers, and they in him ; not by imputing or ima-
gining it to be so, but by a vital and substantial union ; which
was manifest, by comparing their fruits with the first fruits of the
Spirit in Jesus ; and consequently, that the only true God, and
eternal life, was manifested in the flesh, as visible and real in them,
as they had been in Jesus, "the first begotten from the dead."
27. While, on the other hand, these false teachers, denied
Christ's being in the flesh, and put him at a distance. Instead
of denying self, they denied both the Father and the Son ; and
therefore still continued in their former wicked works, which
proved that they were yet of the devil, and not even begotten of
God; for, "He that is begotten of God keepeth " [Gr. <r>]psj, Uohn, t.
strictly watcheth] " himself and that wicked one toucheth him 3'
not."
28. This is the testimony of St. John; and we know that his
testimony is true, because he had the Spirit of truth, from both
the Father and the Son, abiding in him.
29. Again : In his epistle to the elect lady and her children,
he draws the same line of distinction. "This is love, that we g^J111'0'
walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, that,
as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it."
30. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, hath not God ; he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto
you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
[Gr. oixiav] family (or communion,) neither bid him God speed."
31. "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who
confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh," that is, those
who do not confess in their works that the saving power of Christ
is come in them. Who walk not after his commandments, bxit after
124 THE WORK OP ANTICHRIST, B. IV.
chap, r. their own lusts ; who own the doctrine of Christ to he from hea-
ven, but transgress it, and keep it not: and whosoever he be that
2 John, i. 7. answers to this character, mark it well; OCT" This is a deceiver
and an antichrist.
32. In his third and last epistle, the beloved Apostle makes
the distinction, if possible, more plain and simple ; in which the
Spirit of Christ, and that of antichrist, are manifested in their
respective followers, Gains, and Diotrephes.
3 John, 3- 33^ 'j0 Gaius he saith, "Beloved — I rejoiced greatly when
the brethren came, and testified of the truth that is in thee, even
as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear
that my children walk in truth. Beloved, thou doeth faithfully
whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers."
34. Thus it is evident, that, by walking in the truth, and
faithfully doing the commandments of Christ, Gaius was accepted;
and particularly, in observing that saying of Christ which was
Mat.xxv. from the beginning : "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye
40- have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me."
3. John, o- 35. But how manifest is the contrary character? "I wrote
unto the church : but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-
eminence among them, received us not. Wherefore, if I come,
I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us
with malicious words ; and not content therewith, neither doth
he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would,
and casteth them out of the church."
36. " He that doeth good is of God,; but lie that doeth evil
l John, hi. hath not seen God.'''' "In this the childrenof God are manifest,
and the children of the devil ; tvhosoever doeth not righteousness,
is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.'''' This is
the touchstone; and by this, Diotrephes is proved to be an anti-
christ in perfect shape. He loved to have the pre-eminence ;
not willing to be the least of all, and servant of all, to humble
himself, and esteem others better than himself, according to the
Gospel.
37. Again: He received not those whom God had sent; of
course he received not John, nor him that sent him, nor him
that was from the beginning. Thus, he at once rejected Christ,
and subverted the whole order of the Gospel ; and professing
Christ, yet having neither the Father nor the Son, what could
he have but the spirit of antichrist, ?
38. The reason why this deceiver did not receive the brethren,
3 John 7. is particularly noticed by the Apostle : Because that in the name
of God they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. Those
faithful ministers of Christ, would neither take any part of the
Gentile superstitions, wherewith to corrupt the Gospel, and ac-
commodate it to the taste of the wicked ; nor would they take
B. IV BY FALSE TEACHERS. 125
any hire for their labors in the Gospel ; either of which was CHAP- T-
sufficient to stir up Diotrepkes against them.
39. For antichrist never could endure sound doctrine, nor
bear the testimony of Jesus, as delivered in his name, without
any mixture or false covering; nor could he ever support his
dignity, without a revenue from his subjects. Thus we see, at
so early a period, not only the distinction, but the division, be-
tween Christ and antichrist.
40. For, if Diot replies cast those out of the Church, that would
receive John and the brethren, what kind of a church must have
remained ? Must it not, upon the plainest principles of the doc-
trine of Christ, have been a body of professed Christians, who
would neither receive the Father, nor the Son, nor even hold in
fellowship any one who would receive either ?
41. So far, then, did the work of antichrist advance in the
first century, that he had a body, in which he could live, and
by which he could work, according to his own deceitful plan, for
the undermining, and supplanting the true spirit and power of
the Gospel.
42. And it further appears, from the revelation to John, in
the isle of Patmos, that, in all the Gentile churches scattered
abroad, antichrist had more or less of his subjects at this period,
who, Diotrephes-like, were striving for the pre-eminence. This
will reasonably appear to have been the case, from a view of the
situation of the seven Churches of Asia.
43. The angel (or minister) of the Church of Ephesus, had Rev y „
to contend with those that said they were apostles, and were not, o-'JO.
but were liars ; and also with the Nicolaitans, who held a com-
munity of wives. At Smyrna, were similar blasphemers, who
said they were Jews, and were not ; but in reality, were of the *
synagogue of Satan.
44. In Pergamos, where Satan had his seat, they had those
who held the doctrine of Balaam, who taught to eat things
sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication ; and also those who
held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. At Thyatira, that lying
Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess, was suffered to seduce
the professed servants of Christ, to commit fornication, and
adultery, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
45. There were but a few names in Sardis, which had not ,
C I'lclD' 111 A
defiled their garments. Philadelphia had but a little strength; 8, 16.'
and Laodicea was lukewarm, neither cold nor hot ; for which
cause, says Christ, " I will spue thee out of my mouth." Yet,
amidst all the deceitful working, of lying apostles, filthy,
debauched, and lukewarm professsors, there remained still a few,
who had ears to hear what the Spirit said unto the churches.
SO ENDS THE FIRST CENTURY.
126 THE WORK OF ANTICHRIST, B. IV.
CHAPTER II.
THE WORK OF ANTICHRIST, BY EGYPTIAN PHILOSOPHERS, IN
THE SECOND CENTURY.
chap. H. In the beginning of the Gospel, God chose the foolish things of
; — the world, to confound the wise, and weak things of the world
or'1' ~ ' to confound the mighty; and not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble, were called.
2. But, in process of time, vfhem. false teachers had perverted
the truth from its original simplicity, and modified the doctrines
of Christ to suit the taste of the wicked; then the Gospel, as it
was called, in this corrupted state, began to be advocated by
many among the wise and prudent of the world; and, in propor-
tion as their number and influence increased, the order of things
was changed, and the wisdom of man was introduced as the
foundation of faith, instead of the power of God.
3. The true order of God required living witnesses, who were
united to Christ, by a perfect obedience to his example, and
none could stand in that order, as Jesus testified, but such as
denied themselves, and took up their cross against every carnal
lust, and walked even as he walked.
ch. Theo. ^. But Osterwald well observes: "Carnal men could not
p. 332. endure the cross, nor divest themselves of the love of wealth and
pleasures ; and by these means they corrupted the pure doctrine
of the Gospel."
5. It was imposible for carnal men, who lived in wealth and
pleasures ; to have the Spirit of Christ, the true power of the
Gospel, abiding in them. And, as their pride and presump-
tion prompted them to stand at the head of affairs, they wickedly
contrived means of getting a false power ; which was effected by
substituting the letter for the Spirit, and assuming the authority
of expounding the writings of the Apostles by the rules of a
blind philosophy, which carnal men like themselves had in-
vented.
ibid. p.33i. 6. Hence says, Osterwald: "From the time that the tenets
and methods of philosophers were blended with the Christian
religion, which is very simple, all things began to degenerate."
7. As early, at least, as the second century, this change in
the fundamental principles of the Gospel was introduced: so
that, instead of receiving and treating those that were sent in the
Gal. iv. 14. order of God, as angels of the Lord, even as Christ Jesus, the
whole of the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments,
B. TV. BY EGYPTIAN PHILOSOPHERS. 127
were adopted as the basis of truth, and publicly read and ex- chap, ii.
pounded by the wicked and wise of the world, as the great rule Ecci.Hist.
of faith and manners. ™i. i. p.
8. Those vain men gradually effaced the beautiful simplicity
of the Gospel, by the laborious efforts of human learning, and
the dark subtilties of imaginary science; and the tenets of a ibid.p. iso,
chimerical philosophy, were incorporated into the Christian
system; for, as Moshei?n says, "they thought it a very fine
accomplishment, to be able to express the precepts of Christ, in
the language of philosophers, civilians, and rabbins."
9. From this, it is easy to see what kind of a Gospel was
established, when the whole of the Jewish Scriptures, which the
scribes and Pharisees themselves could not understand, together
with the writings of the Apostles, were explained by carnal men,
whose education and manners rendered them as widely different
from the Apostles, as Belial is different from Christ. Surely
such a revolution could effect nothing short of a total shipwreck
of the living faith of the Son of God.
10. This change was gradually introduced; and the means by
which it was effected, are particularly worthy of notice; which,
according to the history of those times, consisted in substituting
human learning for the illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit ;
and this was done, not by any council from the Apostles, or any
that stood in the order of God ; but by the cunning craftiness of
men, who were destitute of the truth.
11. "The first, and the most fatal of all events to the primi- Ecci. Re-
tive religion, (says Robi?iso?t,) was the setting up of a Christian ^dlcies P*
academy at Alexandria, in Egypt. Christians had been re-
proached with illiteracy, and this seemed a plausible method to
get rid of the scandal."
12. " This school was first kept by Pantaenus, whom Clement
first assisted, and then succeeded, as Origen did him. Each im-
proved upon his predecessor, and all together invented questions
about the Christian religion, sufficient to perplex and puzzle the.
whole world." To this may be added the following account
from Mosheim.
13. "Towards the conclusion of this [second] century, a new Ec.Hist.
sect of philosophers arose on a sudden, spread with amazing J'^' \^
rapidity throughout the greatest part of the Roman empire,
swallowed up almost all other sects, and was extremely detri-
mental to the cause of Christianity.
14. "Alexandria, in Egypt, which had been, for a long time,
the seat of learning, and, as it were, the center of all the liberal
arts and sciences, gave birth to this new philosophy; which was
embraced by such of the Alexandrian Christians as were desirous
to retain, with the profession of the Gospel, the title, the dignity,
and the habit of philosophers.
128
THE WORK OF ANTICHRIST,
IJ.jIV.
CHAP. II.
Rom. i. 22,
23.
Ecel Re-
searches, p.
51.
Ec. Hist.
vol. i. p.
305.
EccI. Re-
searches, p.
5S.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. i.
p. 106.
ibid. vol. i.
p. 167.
Ibid. Note
Im]
15. Thus, "professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools, even vain in their imagination; and as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, (rod gave them over to a repro-
bate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."
16. It is stated by Robinson, that, "From a wild enthusi-
astical philosopher of Alexandria, named Ammonites Saccas,
these men imbibed a chaos of gross errors called philosophy.
Vain questions about matter and spirit ; the whole and the parts,
human souls, demons, &c, were all applied, by these men, to
the Christian religion ; and the inspired writers put upon the
rack, and tortured to give answers and determine points, of which
probably they had never heard the names, and never entertained
a thought."
17. And who were these men, but the highly respected fathers
and founders of that which for many ages had been called the
Christian system? In the first place, this new philosophy had
the particular approbation of Athenagoras, Pantaenus, Clemens,
the Alexandrian, and all those who, in this century, were
charged with the care of the public school, which the Christians
had at Alexandria.
18. "The title and dignity of philosophers delighted so much
these vain men, that, though they were advanced in the church
to the rank of presbyters, they would not abandon the philoso-
pher's cloak."
19. " These sages were of opinion, that true philosophy, the
most salutary gift of God to mortals, was scattered in various
portions through all the different [Pagan] sects; and that it was
the duty of every wise man, and more especially of every
Christian doctor, to gather it from the several corners, where
it lay dispersed, and to employ it, thus reunited, in the
defence of religion." From hence they were called Eclectics,
[i.e. Selecters.]
20. The former Egyptian philosophers, from whom these
Alexandrian doctors selected the materials of their system, held,
" That in every sect there was a mixture of good and bad, of
truth and falsehood, and accordingly they chose and adopted
out of each of them, such tenets as seemed to them conformable
to reason and truth, and rejected such as they thought repugnant
to both."
21. Here then, appears the ground-work of what has long
passed in a deceived world, under the honorable name of Chris-
tianity, and upon which the Alexandrian doctors began their
building.
22. " Ammonius Saccas," (says Maclaine,) "was a Christian
who adopted with such dexterity the doctrines of the Pagan
philosophy, as to appear a Christian to the Christians, and a
Pagan to the Pagans," And says Mosheim: "As his genius
B. IV.
BY EGYPTIAN PHILOSOPHERS.
129
was vast and comprehensive, so were his projects bold and sin- chap, ii.
gular. For he attempted a reconciliation, or coalition, cf all
sects, whether philosophical or religious, and taught a doctrine
which he looked upon as proper to unite them all, the Christians
not excepted, in the most perfect harmony.
23. "He maintained, that the great principles of all philo- ibid, p.ios.
sophical and religious truth, were to be found, equally, in all
sects : that they differed from each other, only in their method
of expressing them, and in some opinions of little or no import-
ance ; and that by a proper interpretation of their respective
sentiments, they might easily be united into one body/'
24. "How this vast project was effected by Ammonias, the
writings of his disciples and followers, that yet remain, abundantly
testify. All the Gentile religions, and even the Christian, were
to be explained by the principles of this universal philosophy ;
but that, in order to this, the fables of the priests were to be
removed from Paganism, and the comments and interpretations
of the disciples of Jesus from Christianity."
25. How evidently does this deep laid scheme of antichrist
strike at the very foundation of the Gospel, by excluding the
disciples of Jesus from the liberty of interpreting their own
original doctrine ! And, if the foundation be destroyed, what
shall the righteous do? "Some Christians," (says Robinson,)
"foresaw the mischief that this school would produce, and
remonstrated against it; but they soon sank into neglect and
contempt."
26. "The number of learned men," (says Moshcim,) among
the Christians, which was very small in the preceding century,
grew considerably in this, [second century.] The most part
were philosophers attached to the Eclectic system, though they
were not all of the same sentiments concerning the utility of
letters and philosophy.
27. "Hence the early beginnings of that unhappy contest ibid.p. 173
between faith and reason, religion and philosophy, piety and
genius, which increased in the succeeding ages, and is prolonged,
even to our times, with a violence that renders it extremely
difficult to be brought to a conclusion.
28. "Those who maintained that learning and philosophy
were rather advantageous, than detrimental, to the cause of
religion, gained, by degrees, the ascendant ; and in consequence
thereof, laws were enacted, which excluded the ignorant and il-
literate from the office of public teachers. The opposite side of
the question was not, however, without defenders; [heretics,]
and the defects and vices of learned men and philosophers con-
tributed much to increase their number."
29. Doubtless, to remedy this inconvenience, these learned
Pharisees invented many of those austere and monkish rules of
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
51.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. i.
p. 172.
130 THE WORK OF ANTICHRIST, &C. B. IV.
chap, ir. discipline, which neither they nor their followers ever observed ;
but, merely to blind the eyes of the ignorant, and carry the ap-
pearance of sanctity to the multitude, they taught the propriety
of such rules of discipline, as a necessary part of their system.
Eccl. His- 30. " To this monstrous coalition of heterogeneous doctrines,"
p'Yto *' (says Mosheim,) " its fanatical author added a rule of life and
manners, which carried an aspect of high sanctity, and uncom-
mon austerity. As Ammonius was born and educated among
the Christians, he set off, and even gave an air of authority to his
injunctions, by expressing them partly in terms borrowed from
■the sacred Scriptures."
31. But what follows ? " He permitted the people to live ac-
cording to the dictates of nature." Of what use then, was either
this labored philosophy, or those rules of high sanctity, but
merely, through a vain show, to deceive mankind into a belief,
that it was the once living revealed religion of Christ Jesus,
that they were promoting, while their own interest, honor, and
pleasure, were at the bottom.
32. Thus the Gospel was evidently supplanted, both as to
faith and practice; from which time the church assumed entirely
a different visible form. The academy became the head of in-
fluence ; the learned reasoner was respected as the oracle of truth ;
and the admirer of a vain philosophy, garnished with the words
of Scripture, constituted the body. Titles of honor were adopted,
offices of dignity were created, councils called, and the vote of
the majority established as the test of truth.
Ecci. Re- 33. This compound of clashing principles, in its very consti-
roaI.cl^s' p' tution and laws, excluded the disciples of Jesus from any part
or interest in it: hence, as Robinson expresses it, "Modest
plain people retired and kept at due distance."
B. IV. OF THE ORTHODOX AND HERETICS. 131
CHAPTER III.
THE DIFFERENCE OF FAITH AND PRACTICE BETWEEN THE
ORTHODOX AND THE HERETICS, IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A general division, both in faith and practice, evidently chap. in.
appears. Historians say, that genuine Christianity had almost
disappeared, that solid piety, at this time, was scarcely to he
found in the church, that little remained hut a motley spectacle
of superstition.
2. And yet, notwithstanding the evident truth of these asser-
tions, this same church, this numerous party, who called them-
selves the Catholic and Orthodox Church, is distinguished as the
legitimate descendant from the Apostolic order ; while such as
followed the precepts and examples of Christ, in any degree of
simplicity, and kept their proper distance from those subtle de-
ceivers, are known and distinguished by the odious name of
Heretics.
3. But who has a right to give names ? And who is to be
credited in this case ? Admitting the principal matters of fact
to have been correctly handed down in history, it is little matter
what those high sounding professors called either themselves or
others. Names cannot alter the nature of things, they may
blind and dazzle the eyes for a season ; but each party must
finally be distinguished by their merits, and named and rewarded
according to their vjorks.
4. However, from what has been already stated, it is evident,
that, in the second century, there was a vast distinction between
those who styled themselves Catholics, and those who, by this
compound body, were treated as Heretics ; and the most evident
marks of this distinction are worthy of notice at this early period
of apostacy from the Apostolic faith.
5. It is evident that the Alexandrian school was, for that time,
the head of the great body, called the church. Milner says,
" Alexandria was at this time the most renowned seminary of
learning. Here were the philosophers who called themselves
Eclectics: and here was Ammonius Saccas, who reduced the
opinions of this sect to a system. This man fancied that all re-
ligions, vulgar and philosophical, Grecian and Barbarian, Jewish
and G-entile, meant the same thing at bottom."
6. Thus it will be seen, that, so early as towards the end of
the second century, the head of this church was the most re-
nowned seat of human learning, and its leading characters were
Gentile philosophers, who embraced the Christian profession,
132
OF THE ORTHODOX AND HERETICS.
B. IV.
chap, in. yet maintained their former habits and titles, and the religion
which they taught was a compound of all the religions of the
world, selected by their vain philosophy and human wisdom.
7. Now let the candid reader judge whether this can be the pure
Gospel taught by Jesus Christ ; or rather, is it not an imposition
on the reason of man, to call it Christianity ? And, if such was
the case at that early period, what are we to expect in the suc-
ceeding ages ? What kind of a Gospel could be handed down to
posterity from such a source, but vain philosophy, and the tra-
ditions of men ?
8. These leading characters of the Alexandrian school, were
the first of the "venerated" fathers, in conformity to whose
dogmas the Scriptures have been interpreted by the professed
orthodox to the present day, but which have no foundation in
the doctrines of Christ, or his Apostles. Yet all who have had
light to see the deception, and conscientiously refused to unite
with this corrupt body, and its descendants, have been proscribed
as heretics.*
9. Besides that vast and extensive body that was ruled by the
influence of learned bishops, archbishops, patriarchs, and councils,
history furnishes an account of Marcionites, Valentinians,
Basilidians, and others, who were so far from meditating a coa-
lition with the general mass of Pagans, Jews, and Christian
philosophers, that they stood as common objects of hatred to them
all.
10. It is difficult, at this distance of time, without the writings
of those reputed heretics, to ascertain precisely their faith and
practice in every particular; the most that can be collected, is
from the writings of their adversaries, who frequently contradict
each other.
11. But notwithstanding all the learned labors of Catholic
philosophers and historians, in support of their own orthodoxy,
and in blackening the characters of those who differed from them,
they nevertheless, furnish sufficient matter to show who they
were that retained the greatest degree of the Gospel according
to its primitive simplicity and truth.
Mcth. Ma"- * Such has been the effect of that darkening influence, proceeding from this
p. 277, N. source, that even John Wesley, the renowned advocate of virtue and Christian
Y. 183S, perfection, was so far blinded that he took his pattern of primitive, unadulterated
new series, Christianity, and of ordaining bishops, from the apostate church of Alexandria;
vol. ix. No. as mav be seen from the following: It is said he kept "his eye upon the con-
3' duct of the primitive churches, in the ages of unadulterated Christianity ; he had
much admired the mode of ordaining bishops, which the church of Alexandria
had practised." It was to this seat, then, of corrupt and corrupting Christianity,
that Wesley looked for the primitive and unadulterated Apostolic Church.
B. IV. THE FIRST DISTINCTION BETWEEN, &C. 133
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST DISTINCTION BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND HERETICS,
IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
The title of Catholic, which signifies universal, appears to have chap. iv.
been first adopted by those Christian fathers, so called, who, in
the second century, embraced the philosophy of the Alexandrian
school ; which distinguishing title answered well to the system of
Am/nonius Saccas, who proposed to incorporate all sects and
denominations of mankind into one body, or universal church.
2. Hence the writings of those renowned fathers, have been
considered, through all succeeding ages, as the only key to open
the Scriptures; as the only exposition of the words of God, and
the only test of truth, by which all controversies were to be
decided.
3. Consequently, those writings have been preserved by their
successors, as .the most precious fountain of light, without which,
the Scriptures must (in their esteem) be entirely useless. Then
it must be from the writings of these fathers, that the real foun-
dation of the Catholic church is to be ascertained, and the spirit
from which it originated, made manifest.
4. Among the famous foundation pillars of this Catholic build- Eccl. His-
ing, may be ranked Justin, Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Theophilus, ^fj™1'1,
Pantacnus, Clement* and Origen. There were also many other
learned commentators cf less note. Clement, the Alexandrian,
who succeeded Pa?itaenus in the care of the Christian school,
wrote several books which are yet extant. Moskeim says, they
show the extent of his learning and the force of his genius ; but
at the same time, acknowledges, that his excessive attachment
to the reigning philosophy led him into a variety of pernicious
errors.
5. Origen succeeded him. "This rash young man," (says Eccl Re-
Robinson,) came quibbling into the church when he was about 54.
eighteen. Old Clement, and the pedants emboldened him. He
persecuted the world with an endless number of books, and
wrote twenty tomes to explain the hidden mysteries of the
Gospel of John. At length death forced him to quit his delight-
ful work of disputing and wrangling, in the year two hundred
and fifty-four."
•His name was Titus Flavins Clemens, usually called St. Clement of Alex-
andria, to distinguish him from Clement of Rome, mentioned in Paul*s epistle to
the Philippians. See Phil. iv. 3.
134
THE FIRST DISTINCTION BETWEEN
B. IV.
CHAP. IV.
Eeel. His-
tory, vol. i.
p. 171.
Ibid. p. 1S2.
Mil. Chh.
Hist, vol i.
p. 145. Phil-
adelphia
edit. 1S35.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
51,52 -See
also Mo-
sheim, Eel.
History,
vol. ii. p.
183.
6. To this agree the following observations of Mosheim : " This
new species of philosophy, imprudently adopted by Origen, and
many other Christians, was extremely prejudicial to the cause of
the Gospel, and to the beautiful simplicity of its celestial doc-
trines.
7. " For hence it was, that the Christian doctors began to in-
troduce their subtle and obscure erudition into the religion of
Jesus ; to involve in the darkness of a vain philosophy, some of
the principal truths of Christianity, that had been revealed with
the utmost plainness, and were indeed obvious to the meanest
capacity ; and to add to the divine precepts of our Lord, many
of their own, which had no sort of foundation in any part of the
sacred writings.
8. " Pa?itacnus, the head of the Alexandrian school, was pro-
bably the first who enriched the church with a version of the
sacred writings. All were unanimous in regarding with venera-
tion the holy Scriptures, as the great rule of faith and manners."
Clement -wrote a Commentary upon the canonical epistles, or those
epistles which had been selected for a canonical, purpose by his
learned master Pantaenus. He is also said to have explained, in
a compendious manner, almost all the sacred writings.
9. Milner says, " Pardaenns was much addicted to the sect
of Stoics. The combination of Stoicism with Christianity in the
system of Pantae?ius, must have very much debased the sacred
truths. He always retained the title of the Stoic philosopher,
after he had been admitted to eminent employment in the Chris-
tian church."
10. "Every effect," (says Robinson,) "produced by these
causes, became itself the cause of another effect : Origen broached
a new and universal maxim in explaining the Scriptures. This
was, " that scripture had a double seme; the one obvious and
literal, the other hidden and mysterious, which lay concealed, as
it were, under the veil of the outward letter.
11. "The former they treated with the utmost neglect, and
turned the whole force of their genius and application to unfold
the latter; or in other words, they were more studious to darken
the holy Scriptures with their idle fictions, than to investigate
their true and natural sense.
12. "Some of them also forced the expressions of sacred writ
out of their obvious meaning, in order to apply them to the sup-
port of their philosophical systems ; of which dangerous and per-
nicious attempts, Clemens is said to have given the first example.
The Alexandrian version, commonly called the Septuagint, they
regarded almost as of divine authority."
13. This, in conjunction with such of the Apostle's writings
as these Eclectics chose to select, formed the orthodox canon,
or law. From Jews and Pagans they received, or adopted the
B. IV. CATHOLICS AND HERETICS. 135
maxim, " That it was not only lawful, but even praiseworthy, chap, iv.
to deceive, or even to use the expedient of a lie, in order to ad- Ecci. His:
vance the cause of truth and 'piety.'" Doubtless for this prac- por[<;8vo1' L
tice their double sense of scripture opened a large field. " Such" Ecei Re-
lays Robinson) "were the benefits which the Alexandrian school, parches, P.
and chiefly Origen, conferred on the Primitive [Catholic]
Church!"
14. " The charge of the Alexandrian school (says Milner) was
committed to Origen when quite young, (17) by Demetrius, the
bishop of that city ; and here is the platform of his doctrines on
Rom. iii. 28. ' We conclude that a man is justified by faith,''
&c, he says: 'The justification by faith only is sufficient; so
that, if any person only believe, he may be justified, though no las-'li- 19-
good work hath been fulfilled by him."
15. Here is the whole and sole foundation of antichristian
doctrine ; this is the true Catholic faith, the true Protestant
faith, and the true Orthodox faith, as systematized by Origen.
On this ground the devils may be justified, for they believe and
tremble.
16. Yet Milner goes on: " Thus this precious doctrine of jus- Mii.Chh.
tification was yet alive in the third century. This it was that f1^0^ l"
kept Origen, with all his hay and stubble, firm on Christian v20.
foundations." "Christian foundations !" What astonishing
blindness! But what follows? "A thick mist pervaded the ibid. p. £21
Christian world, supported and strengthened by his absurd, alle-
gorical manner of interpretation." Yet his false and absurd
theories have been handed down as true orthodox faith, to the
present time.
17. " Justin Martyr ," (says Mosheim) "had frequented all J^v\Ss~i.
the different sects of philosophy, in an ardent and impartial pur- P 177.
suit of truth; but finding, neither in the Pythagorean nor Pla-
tonic schools, any satisfactory account of the perfections of the
Supreme Being, and the nature and destination of the human
soul, he embraced Christianity, on account of the light which it
cast upon these interesting subjects."
18. He wrote in defence of the Christians, and even presented
an Apology to the emperor in their behalf. His apologies are ibid. p. 157.
said to be "most deservedly held in high esteem;" notwith-
standing, " He shows himself an unwary disputer, and betrays a 1Cor, i-20
want of acquaintance with ancient history." And where is the
disputer of this world ?
19. Irenaeus turned his pen against those whom Mosheim calls, Eccl His-
" The internal and domestic enemies of the church," to which jj^re!01'1'
his labors are said to have been " singularly useful ;" for he
wrote five books against heresies, and refuted the whole^tribe of
Heretics.
20. Athenagoras wrote a Treatise upon the Pusurrection,
130
THE FIRST DISTINCTION BETWEEN
B. IV.
CHAP. IV.
Ibid p. 186,
187.
Ibid. vol. i.
p. 178,
Note [q.]
Ibid vol. vi.
)). 1:37.
Chronol.
Table.
Cent. II.
Eecl. His-
tory, vol. i.
p. 149.
Note [1.]
*i.e. plu-
rality of
gods.
Eecl. Re-
searches, p.
53.
and an Apology for the Christians. — "He was a philosopher of
no mean reputation," says Mosheim, " and deserves a place
among the 'estimable writers' of the second century;" of course
he could not be an Apostle, hated of all men, and counted as the
filth and off-scouring of all things.
21. But who were those estimable writers ? and what are
the merits of their works ? Mosheim himself confesses that,
" they abound with stoical and academical dictates, vague and
indeterminate notions, and, what is yet worse, with decisions
that are absolutely false, and in evident opposition to the pre-
cepts of Christ." Such is the heterogeneous description of quali-
ties which truly belong to the fathers, the self-styled orthodox,
and first founders and defenders of the Catholic faith.
22. " Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, wrote three books in de-
fence of Christianity — a Commentary on the Proverbs — another
on the Four Evangelists. He also wrote against Marcion and
Hermogenes, and refuting the errors of these Heretics, he quotes
several passages of the Revelations. He was the first who made
use of the word OCT" TBINTTY to express the distinction of what
divines [or rather blind guides] call, Persons in the Godhead.''''
23. " The Christian church," (says Ma claine) " is very little
obliged to him for his invention. The use of this and other un-
scriptural terms, to which men attach either no ideas, or false
ones, has wounded charity and peace, without promoting truth
and knowledge. It has produced heresies of the very worst
kind."
24. " Nothing more injurious can be conceived than the
terms of contempt, indignation, and reproach, which the heathens
employed in expressing their hatred against the Christians, who
were called by them atheists, because they derided the heathen
Polytheism;* magicians, because they wrought miracles; self-
viu rderers, because they suffered cheerfully for the truth ; haters
of the light,'''' because they held religious assemblies in the
night : "with a multitude of other ignominious epithets."
25. Then, what could ever have induced such indignant des-
pisers to embrace a religion against which they had such indig-
nation ? The truth is, they never did receive nor embrace it ;
they quarrelled about the name, for the sake of honor and pro-
motion; but the power and substance of the religion of Christ
they never knew or received. It is unnecessary to say anything
about the miraculous power of God ; for of this the learned doc-
tors professed to stand in no need.
26. "It was," (says Robinson,) "an enormous compliment,
which these gentlemen paid themselves." "The gospel," (said
they,) "is evidently divine, because nothing but the miraculous
power of Grod could support it in the hands of illiterate men.
As if they and their quirks, were, to all succeeding ages, to sup-
B. IV. CATHOLICS AND HERETICS. 137
ply the place of the miraculous power of God." Doubtless the chap, iv.
quirk of Theophilus removed much of the Pagan indignation and
contempt.
27. The following remarks of Mosheim, on this subject, are
worthy of particular notice. " The religious sentiments of the Ecci. His-
first Christians were most unjustly treated, and most perfidiously p0r^oLl"
misrepresented to the credulous multitude, who were restrained
by this only from embracing the Gospel." Here the doctor
seems to have forgotten that the carnal mind is enmity against
God, and in love with gods many. But observe what follows :
28. "Those therefore, who, by their apologetic writings in
favor of the Christians, destroyed the poisonous influence of de-
traction, l'endered, no doubt, signal service to the doctrines of
Christ," [he ought to have said, to the doctrine of Saccas,] " by
removing the chief impediment that retarded its progress.
29. " Nor were the writings of such as combated with success
the ancient heretics without their use. For the insipid and ex-
travagant doctrines of these sectaries, and the gross immoralities
with which they were chargeable, were extremely prejudicial to
the Christian religion, by disgusting many at whatever carried
the Christian name.
30. "But, when it was known, by the writings of those who
defended Christianity, that these corrupt heretics were held in
aversion, instead of being patronized by the true followers of
Christ, then the clouds that were cast over the religion of Jesus
were dispersed, and the prejudices that had been raised against
it were fully removed."
31. How Dr. Mosheim could give the name of followers of
Jesus Christ, to the votaries of that system, which he elsewhere
denominates li a motley spectacle of superstition," is a mystery;
but, granting that it was the religion forged in the Alexandrian
school, that the learned fathers rescued from the indignation and
contempt of the Pagans against the Christian name, his state-
ment is doubtless correct.
32. " To us," (said the followers of Christ from the begin- iCor.viii.
ning) '" there is but one God." This was detraction enough ; it 6*
overthrew at once the whole Pagan system. This must surely
be charged to the followers of Saccas, if they assume the name
of Christians. To remove this disgraceful charge, they apply
Origen,s two-fold sense of scripture ; according to this, the
literal sense must be, One God; and the mysterious sense, Three
Persons ; and so of the rest.
33. Thus it appears that the Catholics hold that more persons
than one may be called God and worshipped. This doctrine
they established by a council of learned bishops, doctors and pa-
triarchs, from which the illiterate were excluded, and into which,
none of the comments of the disciples of Jesus on the scriptures
10
138 CHARGES AGAINST REPUTED HERETICS. B. IV.
CIIAP-V- should be admitted. Here the Jew, the Pagan, and the Chris-
Han, are incorporated into one ; and why not admit that three
•persons, each true God, by a mystical union, may also be incor-
porated into one ?
34. This is according to the true Catholic faith ; and he that
disputes this doctrine must be called a heretic. Heretics are
held in aversion ; they are not patronized ; they are charged with
the most extravagant, and execrable doctrines, and the most
gross immoralities. This was enough to arouse the persecuting
vengeance of both# Pagans and Catholics to extirminate them
from the earth; while the correspondent faith, and co-operating
practice of their joint persecutors, declared them both to be the
servants of one master.
35. Then, as Christian heretics alone are cut off from the
general bond of union, and marked out for destruction, it may
be proper to notice the account that historians give of them.
CHAPTEK V.
CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS, CALLED HERE-
TICS, IN THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES.
Lardner's " Heresy, in Creek, " (says Lardner, in his History of Her e-
voUx'p. tics,) signifies election or choice, and is used for any opinion which
2'23- a man chooseth as best, or most probable. The same word is
17— xv 5. also translated sect.V
— xxiv.5, o. «« It is generally allowed, that a heretic is one who professes to
xxviii. 22 be a Christian, but is not supposed to be of the Church, having
n>id.voi.iv. e-ltiler geparated himself from it, or been excluded from it by
p. 227. others. They believe what they profess, to be true. As they
are heretics in our esteem, so are we in theirs.
Ecci. Re- 3. "During the first three centuries," (says Robinson,) "Chris-
53ai55hes'p' **an congregations, all over the east, subsisted in separate inde-
pendent bodies, unsupported by government, and consequently
without any secular power over one another. Opinion/sts, or,
to use the Greek style, heretics, formed churches, taught their
own doctrines, and held separate assemblies everywhere."
4. " Marcionifes, Valentinians, Basilidiaus, and great num-
bers more who followed their own convictions, taught churches,
and probably were men of more zeal than that most numerous
B. IV. CHARGES AGAINST REPUTED HERETICS. 139
party, who calumniated all the rest as heretics who troubled the chap, v.
peace of Israel."
5. " Heretics," (says Lardner,) " have often been treated with Lnrdner's
much harshness and great severity of expression. Some seem to v«i ix.'p.
have reckoned that they had a right to say the worst things of 235,237.
heretics which they could ; and others have thought themselves
obliged to believe all the evil that has been reported of them.
G. " One thing laid to the charge of many of those heretics is ibid. p. 239.
magic : another thing is lewdness, and all manner of wickedness,
and likewise teaching it. There is no small agreement between p- 24°-
the charges brought against the first Christians in the beginning
of the second century, and the charges against the heretics in later
authors ; which may create a suspicion that these last were formed
upon the model of the former, and consequently are without ground.
7. "What the crimes were, which were laid to the charge of
the primitive Christians, we know from divers writers, Creek
and Latin, — from whom it appears that, besides atheism, or im-
piety to the established deities, they were charged with having
their wives in common, with promiscuous lewdness in their assem-
blies, with incest, and eating human flesh, especially young chil-
dren, whom thev first killed and then ate, at their nocturnal meet-
ings, where persons of each sex, and every age were present."
8. " Turner says, these calumnies seem to have begun with ibid. p. 241.
Christianity itself. Tacitus, speaking of the Christians in the
time of Nero, says, they were generally hated for their wicked-
ness; that is, they lay under a bad character with the people."
9. "The Romans," (says Mosheim,) "concluded, that the Ecci. His-
Christian sect, [i. e. heresy,] was not only unsupportably daring >°ry. vol. i.
and arrogant, but, moreover, an enemy to the public tranquility,
and every way proper to excite civil wars and commotions in the
empire."
10. " Tacitus, reproaches them with the odious character of
haters of mankind, and styles the religion of Jesus a destruc-
tive superstition. Suetonius speaks of the Christians, and their
doctrine, in terms of the like kind." He calls Christianity " a ibid. Note
poisonous and malignant superstition." *■*"'
11. What is here added, may sufficiently show upon what
ground the charge of heresy was excited and continued against
the heretics. Thus says Paul: "/ confess, that after the way Acts, xxiv.
which they call heresy, so worship I the God" [not gods] " of
my fathers." And it was predicted by Christ Jesus himself,
that his followers should have their name cast out as evil, and
that all manner of evil would be spoken against them falsely.
12. From which it appears, that, while the apologists, the
honorable Catholic fathers, cleared themselves of those ridicu-
lous charges, by uniting with the universal faith and manners
invented by Saccas, they rolled over the burden of reproach
140 CHARGES AGAINST REPUTED HERETICS. B. IV.
chap. v. upon those who would not conform of course: a heretic in the
second or third century, according to the universal opinion,
must be a magician, an atheist, a lewd incestuous man-eater.
Lardner's 13. According to Lardner, St. Jerome scruples not to say,
voi°rix?p. "They are worse than heathens, the worst of all men; and if
2*5. they are free from all reproach in their lives, yet they have only
p. 236. the shadow and appearance of virtue, not the truth." " This is
certain," (says Lardner,) that as bad things were said of the
primitive Christians (in the first century) by Jews and heathens,
as ever were said of the ancient heretics (in the second and
third centuries) by Catholics."
14. And we might add, that as bad things were said by Jews,
heathens, and Catholics, against Christ and his followers, in the
three first centuries, as can be said by antichristians, against
the followers of Christ in this latter day of his second appearing ;
which may appear, not only from those general charges which
have been mentioned, but from many things of the like nature,
which were published to the world, with some appearance of
authority; of which the following may serve as a specimen:
15. Celsus, an Epicurean Philosopher of the second century,
wrote a book against the Christians, entitled " The True
Word." Lardner thinks it was a time of persecution when he
wrote, [about the year of Christ 176] because he several times
speaks of the Christians as teaching their principles privately,
and holding assemblies contrary to law, and hiding themselves.
Gardner's 16. The following extracts of this subtle writer are copied
Works, from Lardner' 's Jewish and Heathen Testimonies: " I could say
vol. vni. p. , 7 . T . , •'
9, 18. many things, (says Celsus, personating a Jew,) " concerning the
affairs of Jesus, and those true too, different from those written
by his disciples, but I purposely omit them. It is but a few
years since he [Jesus] delivered this doctrine, who is now
reckoned by the Christians to be the Son ot God. In another
place, Celsus calls Jesus the first author of this sedition."
ibid. p. 19. 17. "After this he brings in his Jew, arguing against Jesus
in this manner. First, that he pretended he was born of a
virgin : then he reproaches him with his birth in a Jewish
village, and of a poor woman of that country, who subsisted by
the labor of her hands.
18. "And he says, 'she was put away by her husband, who
was a carpenter by trade, he having found, that she was guilty
of adultery.' Then he says, that, having been turned out of
doors by her husband, she wandered about in a shameful man-
ner, till she had brought forth Jesus, in an obscure place ; and
that he being in want, served in Egypt for a livelihood; and
having there learned some charms, such as the Egyptians are
fond of, he returned home ; and then valuing himself upon those
charms, he set up himself for a God.
B. IV. CHARGES AGAINST REPUTED HERETICS. 141
19. Again, "That the mother of Jesus, being great with chap. v.
child, was put away by the carpenter, who had espoused her, he
having convicted her of adultery with a soldier named Panther as."
Afterwards Celsus goes on: "Was the mother of Jesus hand-
some, that God should be in love with her beauty ? It is un-
worthy of God, to suppose him to be taken with a corruptible
body, or to be in love with a woman, whether she be of royal
descent or otherwise."
20. "In another place, Celsus says: ' But if God would send
forth a spirit from himself, what need had he to breathe him into
the womb of a woman? For, since he knew how to make men,
he might have formed a body for this spirit, and not cast his own
spirit into such filth."
21. Upon what principle could this Epicurean ascribe filth to
the womb of a virgin ? Must it not have been from the debauched
state of his own carnal mind, which could conceive nothing clean,
where the unclean and brutal passions of human nature might be
gratified ?
22. And why does he call in question the beauty of the mother
of Jesus ? Is it to prove that God can have nothing to do with
a woman ? or is it not rather to cast contempt upon that particu-
lar woman, who was chosen for a higher purpose than to gratify
the carnal desires of man ? Admitting that she was not beautiful,
but even ugly, in the eyes of an Epicurean ; this could be no
reasonable objection to the Gospel, which came not to promote
either the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eye : but doubtless
this was the secret cause of his enmity.
23. " Afterwards the Jew in Celsus, addresses Jesus, and says : Lardner,
' What occasion had you, when an infant, to be carried into Egypt, ™K V1U' p-
lest you should be killed ? A God has no reason to be afraid of
death. And now an angel comes from heaven to direct you and
your relations to flee into Egypt, lest you should be taken up
and put to death ; as if the great God, who had already sent two
angels, upon your account, could not have preserved you, his
own Son, in safety at home."
24. "In another place Celsus has these words: 'But if he ibid. p. 22.
[Herod] was afraid, that when you was come of age, you should
reign in his stead ; why did you not reign when you was of age ?
But so far from that, the Son of God wanders about, cringing
like a necessitous beggar, or seulks from place to place, as if he
was afraid of being taken up."
25. Again: Celsus says, " That Jesus taking to himself ten ibid. p. 23.
or eleven abjects, vile publicans and sailors, went about with
them getting his subsistence in a base and shameful manner."
In another place the Jew in Celsus says, "Jesus set out with ten
profligate publicans and sailors."
26. Again, concerning the disciples of Jesus, Celsus has these
142 CHARGES AGAINST REPUTED HERETICS. B. IV.
chap, v. Words: " Some of them say : Bo not examine, but believe: and,
ibid p. 16 thy faith shall save thee : and, the wisdom of this world is evil,
and folly good." And again : " These are their instructions :
Let not any man of learning come hither, nor any ?cise man,
nor any man of prudence ; but if any man be unlearned, if he is
ignorant, if he is silly, let him come ivithout fear. Thus ac-
knowledging, that these are the men who are acceptable to their
God ; and thereby manifesting, that they are neither willing, nor
able to gain any but the foolish, the vulgar, the stupid, slaves,
women and children."
27. In such manner, this learned sophist runs through a great
part of the New Testament ; and, by such kind of reasoning as
would even carry a show of sanctity, he endeavors to show to
the world, that Jesus and his followers are unspeakably below
them, in meanness, and all manner of low debauchery.
Vol viii.p. 28. The following is also from Lardner : " Ccecilius Natalis,
ofMiuuniis a heathen, arguing against the Christians, speaks to this pur-
Felix pub- pose : "As for the feast, it is a well known thing : every body
2io. talks of it. They come together upon an appointed day, with
all their children, their sisters and mothers ; persons of each sex,
and of every condition. And after feeding plentifully, when the
lights are put out, they practise promiscuously, incest, and all
manner of uncleanness.' "
29. These and such like, were the reproaches of Christ, of
which the learned Catholic fathers had to clear themselves, in
order to lay the foundation of their honorable kingdom. But
this they could never have effected, had they not first proved
to the world, by their practice and their writings, that they re-
jected that singular manner of life, which had first given occa-
sion to such false and blasphemous reports.
30. And therefore, while they pretend to maintain the inno-
cence of Jesus and his first followers, they unite with the same
old spirit of falsehood, in rolling off these reproaches from them-
selves, and loading the living heretics of their day with the scan-
dal; and, under a deceitful mask, they try to make it appear,
that they, and not the heretics, stand related to the once despi-
sed Jesus, and have the only right to the distinguishing name
of Christians.
Lardner, 31. " Justin says, that their accusers themselves scarcely be-
vol. ix. p. lieved the charges brought against them : and where these had
in some measure been credited, it arose from the wickedness of
the heathens, which disposed them to believe such things of other
people as they practised themselves."
ibid. p. 241. 32. Moreover, " He assures us, that, in the time of his
heathenism, he thought it impossible that the Christians should
suffer with such constancy and resolution as they did, if they had
been man-eaters, and addicted to lewdness. — Athenagoras
B. IV.
CHARGES AGAINST REPUTED HERETICS.
143
plainly says, that the general wickedness of the heathen people,
was the ground of their charging such base practices upon the
Christians, who were exemplary virtuous.""
chap v.
p. 243.
33. " It appears from Tertullian, that in his time it was not p. 244.
known that any among Christians were guilty of such crimes as
were imputed to them by their adversaries. The only ground of
these charges according to him was common fame, and uncertain
report, without any proof.
34. "You tax us, (says he) with killing and eating children.
The charge is absurd and cruel in the extreme, and we cannot
conceive how you came to invent such a scandalous calumny.
We defy you to prove it. Why do not the magistrates examine
us on this subject? What glory would redound to any governor
who could produce a Christian who had eaten an hundred in-
'fants.
35. " But you hate us, even the bare name by which we are
called, and without giving yourselves any trouble to examine,
you say all manner of evil of us." These words of Tertullian
are quoted by Robinso?i. What follows is taken from Lardner's
History of Heretics.
36. "Trypho the Jew, being asked by Justin whether he
believed the. common reports concerning the Christians, readily
answered, " They are incredible; human nature is not capable
of such things.''''
37. The same arguments will serve for the heretics, for they are
charged by later writers with the same things which were before
imputed to the primitive Christians. If then they are incredible
with regard to the one, they are so likewise with regard to the
other.
38. "When all this is considered, (says Lardner,) I cannot
help thinking that there is too much justice in Mons. BayWs
satire. ' When we read these things in the fathers of the church,
one can scarce forbear thinking that the case was the same with
them in respect to heretics, as with the heathens in respect to
Christianity .
39. ' The heathens imputed to Christianity an hundred ex-
travagances and abominations that had no foundation. The first
who forged these calumnies were undoubtedly guilty of the
blackest malice ; but the greatest part of those who vented them
abroad, after they had been so maliciously sown, were only guilty
of too much credulity ; they believed common fame, and never
troubled themselves to dive into the bottom of it.
40. "Is it not more reasonable to believe that the fathers did
not, with all the patience requisite, thoroughly inform themselves
of the real principles of a sect, than it is to believe that those
very men, who held that Jesus Christ, by his death, was the
Saviour of mankind, should, at the same time, hold that the
Ercl. Re-
searches, p.
49.
Lardner,
vol. ix. p.
244, 245.
Lardner,
vol. ix. p.
246.
144
DISTINCTION BETWEEN CATHOLICS
B. IY.
chap, vi. beastliest pleasures are the ready way to paradise?" So far Mons.
Bayle.
41. Then, according to this plain and candid statement, let
every stone be gathered and united to its own foundation. Let
the fathers of the church be known by the church which they
farthered, and let the churches own their fathers and grandfathers
whose image they bear. But to show more particularly, the first
distinction between the church of the fathers, and that of the
heretics, we shall state a few of the most material points, upon
which they stood divided; and, if Christ is not divided, it must
follow that one or the other was antichrist.
CHAPTER VI.
PARTICULAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS OP
CATHOLICS AND HERETICS, IN THE SECOND AND THIRD
CENTURIES.
Lardner,
vol. ix. p.
361, 360.
Ibid. p. 363,
364.
The following extracts from Lardner, contain some of the most
unfavorable things against Heretics that could be collected from
the writings of their adversaries, particularly against the Mar-
cionites .
2. Of all the ancient heretics the most extraordinary was
Marcion. * "He flourished about .the year 130 or very soon
after. Marcion had many followers. Epiphanius says that he
deceived multitudes of people, and that his heresy still subsisted
in his time at Rome, in Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Arabia and
Syria, in Cyprus, Thelais, Persia, and other places." The
first character given of this heretic is that of a deceiver, which
must imply that he professed to follow Christ, but did not ; and,
to prove this, his moral character is next impeached.
3. Epiphanius has an account of his admitting an affection for
a young woman, and of having been guilty of uncleanneSs with
her. " The story (says Lardner,) of his deceiving a young
woman is held doubtful by many.
Beausobre has a long argu-
* Marcion was a disciple of Cerdon, whose doctrine he embraced at Rome.
The Catholic historians say that Marcion joined himself to the impostor Cerdon
while he was preaching at Rome. Cerdon flourished between the years 125 and
150. His doctrines are blended with those of Marcion. The faith and manners,
therefore, of Cerdon and his followers, may be condsidered the same as those un-
der the description of the Marcionites.
B. IV.
AND KEPUTED HERETICS.
145
Ibid- vol. ix.
p. 365.
ment upon this point, taken from the silence of ancient writers, CHAP.vr.
and consisting of many particulars." All of which tend to prove
Marcion's innocence.
4. "Eusebius informs us of many authors who had written
against Marcion : Justin Martyr, Dionysius of Corinth,
Theophilus of A?itioch, Philip of Gortyna, Modestus, Melito,
and Apollinaris. He had read their writings. Nevertheless
he makes no mention of this scandalous action of Marcion; Je-
rome would not have omitted it, if he had known anything of it :
since he omits not even conjectures and the slightest reports that
tend to blacken the reputation of a heretic^
5. " T ertullian wrote five books against Marcion. He did
not neglect any occasion to decry his adversary ; nevertheless he
says nothing of this scandalous adventure. The story of Mar-
cion's fall is not in Philaster, which shows that he never knew
it ; which may lead persons a little suspicious, to mistrust that
Epiphanius himself is the author of the story." So says
Lardner.
6. The following is the character of the Marcionites given by
Lard?ier. "The manners of the Marcionites were virtuous, and
they had many martyrs. They are not charged by their adver-
saries with being vicious. They had respect to the will of God,
and were desirous of obtaining his favor as the greatest good.
They did not allow themselves in indulging carnal desires, though
their adversaries said that their principles led directly to the
gratifying them.
7. "In short, it is evident that these people were in general
strictly virtuous; that they dreaded sin as the greatest evil, and 386.
had such a real regard for Christ, as to undergo martyrdom
rather than offer incense to idols. They seem indeed to have had
a great number of martyrs."
8. We come now to the principal charge of heresy which ex-
posed them to the rage of their persecutors. " They contemned
marriage, and highly extolled '■virginity.'''' Clement, in par-
ticular, fills up almost all his third book of Stromata, in rehears-
ing and contradicting the arguments of Marcion, and other
Encratites [i.e. continent persons] against marriage.
9. "These proud men, (says Clement,) boast of imitating our ibid.p.3Gi.
Saviour, who never married, and possessed nothing in this world.
But they should know that God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace to the humble." This is a comment on the Scriptures
truly worthy the mystic predecessor of Origen. Had he in
truth brought out what he couched under the outward veil of the
letter, he must have said, that God resisteth the sincere and
harmless imitators of Christ, but giveth grace to the aspiring
followers of Saccas.
10. " St. Ephrem lived at Edcsa. — There were many Mar-
Lardner,
vol. ix. p.
14G
DISTINCTION BETWEEN CATHOLICS
B. IV.
Ibid. vol. ix.
p. i65.
[bid p 3-7.
Lardner,
vol . ix. p
3!)S.
chap. vi. cioriitem'va. that country; which- induced him to write against
them. He says that " Marcion's apostles were wolves, but they
had sheep's clothing: and that the Devil put a cowl upon him,
that he might deceive the children of light."
11. Unhappily, this saint who covered himself with the out-
ward veil, or cowl of the letter, left out the most important part
of the sacred text: " By their fruits ye shall know them.''''
12. "According to St. Jerome, the Marcionites seem to, have
considered the connubial state, not merely as less perfect, but
even as sinful, impure, and odious, in the eyes of their God;
whom they call a hater of marriage."
13. Had this canonized father of the church adopted but one
sense to the Scriptures, most likely he would have represented
the God of the Marcionites as a hater of the lusts of the flesh ;
but with all their learned authority, and compound philosophy,
it is easy to see their misrepresentations.
14. " Clement ' supposeth them to abstain from marriage, that
they might not people the world of the Creator : which is a rea-
son similar to that which he assigns for their offering them-
selves voluntarily to martyrdom, namely, out of hatred to the
Creator."
15. " Another of their institutions was fasting, especially on
the Sabbath or seventh day, which had been a day of rest to the
Creator, or God of the Jews, whom they despised. This day
therefore, they kept as a fast, because they were inclined to do
every thing contrary to what would show the least respect for
him."
16. Here then, is about the heaviest charge of atheism, and
impiety, fixed, by the Catholic fathers, upon the ancient heretics;
which may be more clearly understood by what follows.
17. It is said, that Marcion rejected the Old Testament. He
also objected to the appointment of sacrifices — and likewise said
that many parts of the New Testament were writings not for
Christians, but for Jews. He is also charged with altering many
places to suit his own principles, and of putting a wrong sense
upon others : one particular point as a specimen, is here inserted
from Lardner.
18. " In the second Epistle to the Corinthians, ch. iv. 4, Mar-
ibid p. 403. cion understood by [0so£ <r& ociwvo? tutu,] the God of this world,
the Creator, and considered him as here opposed to the good
God, or the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was the God
of the Christians. In opposition to this, Irenaeus, Tertullian,
and others, who wrote against the Marcionites, were for placing
a comma after ®sog, and referring cuwvostxtx to atfi?uv, and so read
it " In whom God hath blinded the eyes of the unbelievers of this
world."
19. " To us of the present day," (says Lardner,) "this sense
Ibid. p. 339.
B. IV
AND REPUTED HERETICS.
147
appears very harsh, and is one instance, among many others,
how far the heat of controversy will carry men." But harsh as
it is, this comment of these orthodox fathers has been retained as
a Catholic doctrine down to the present day ; that it is the office
of God, as a righteous judge, to Wind and harden the wicked,.*
20. And yet, after all they have said concerning the heretics,
rejecting the Scriptures, the whole of the charge, even according
to their own account, is, that they perverted them. As an evi-
dence of this, Lardner produces what was said by one of the
bishops of the council of Carthage. " I am of opinion that blas-
phemous and wicked heretics, who pervert the sacred and adora-
ble words of the Scriptures, ought to be accursed."
21. That they did not, in every point of view, reject the Scrip-
tures, is manifest from the accounts of their enemies.! The
truth is, they rejected the Catholic sense of them. What was
said of -those early heretics, was probably the same, in substance,
that was said of other heretics after them.
22. This general charge against ancient heretics, of rejecting
the Scriptures, is judiciously stated, by Robinson, in the follow-
ing words, which relate to heretics of a later period : " The fact
isT they knew the Old Testament economy was dissolved and
abolished, and therefore they rejected, not as history, but as a
rule of faith and practice to Christians, all the books of the Old
Testament down to Job. They saw that people, who did not
make this distinction, confounded Christianity with Judaism."
23. " The Catholic schools under pretence of expounding
Genesis, filled the church with vain disputes about matter and
spirit, the origin and duration of the world. They [the heretics]
saw the priests set up Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuter-
onomy, as the rules of an hierarchy, never intended to take place
among Christians. They heard them employ kings to kill and
slay for Jesus, on the ground of the books of Samuel, Kings and
t Among the many evidences, which Lardner produces, to prove that the here-
tics did not reject the Scriptures, we notice the following : " August in of ten blames
the heretics for perverting the Scripture in favor of their errors; not that they re-
jected or despised the Scriptures, but that they misunderstood them, and put wrong
interpretations upon them. All heretics, he says, endeavor to defend their false
opinions by the authority of the divine Scriptures. In like manner St. Jerom says —
that heretics strive to support their doctrines by quotations of Scripture, that they
corrupt the truth of the Gospel, by wrong interpretations. Tertullian speaks much
to the same purpose. Ambrosiaster's description of heretics is, that, they are
men who endeavor to support their opinions by Scripture,— attempting to defend
their errors by the authority of the sacred writings. Vicentius Lirincnsis testifies
the same thing, informing us that some in his days, who were called heretics,
made great use of Scripture, and continually answered their adversaries and calum-
niators by quotations from the sacred writings. He indeed says, "It is the devil
who puts these arguments into their mouths and speaks by them." From which
probably some will conclude, [and perhaps very justly too,] that many of their
arguments from Scripture, were such as their adversaries could not answer. It
would be endless to enter into particulars; suffice it to mention one instance : They
argued against the resurrection of the body from St. Paul's words : 1 Cor. xv. 50. "
Lardner, vol. ix. p. 152, 153, 154.
CHAP. VI.
*Pbn Con-
fes. Faiih,
Ch. v. sec.
vi.
Lardner,
veil. iii. p.
176.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
00.
148 CHURCH OF ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED. B. IV.
Cyr4P- Chronicles : and they discovered their wisdom by renouncing all
such sophisms, and the consequences deduced from them.
Kcci. Re- 24. "They placed religion in what it really consists, piety
searches,p. an(j vjrfcue> They had neither sophistry in their doctrine, nor
tyranny in their government, They are said to have been bad
expositors of Scripture, and to have abounded in allegory : but,
assuredly, the vilest of all expositors is he, who finds in the
Gospel of peace a divine commission to spill the blood of his
fellow creatures."
25. Thus far for the first and particular distinction between
Catholics and reputed heretics. It now remains to pursue those
progressive steps by which the power of antichrist was finally
established.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CHURCH OP ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED BY ROMAN EM-
PERORS IN THE POURTH AND PIPTH CENTURIES.
The design of antichrist, from the beginning, was to get the
name, the seat, and reputed authority of Christ, and convert that
light and revelation which was given through the Son of God,
into a source of wealth and honor to the carnally-wise and wicked
of the world.
2. The enemy of God and man, had been always ready to per-
vert and corrupt whatever had been revealed from heaven, by
getting it into the hands of proud and wicked priests, who could
accommodate it to their own carnal ends, for the purpose of pro-
moting still higher degrees of wickedness, until it was made
manifest, that such doctrines and institutions, whatever they
were at first, could not, in their corrupted state, be of God.
3. The Jewish and Pagan religions, at the time of Christ's first
appearing, were quite sunk, as to any spiritual authority; and
the priests were so notoriously wicked, that they had quite lost
their credit with the people, as ministers of God ; nor could they
raise sufficient evidence, upon their corrupted forms and super-
stitions, to regain their influence over the people.
l Cor.i. 19, 4. Under the ministry of Jesus and his followers, the wisdom
of these impostors was turned into foolishness, and their strength
became weakness. And their violent opposition against those
25
B. IV. CHURCH OF ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED. 149
harmless characters, which their own prophets and poets had Cy^p'
described as the people of God, made it manifest, that in all their .
religious zeal, they were actuated by no higher motive than a
regard to their own honor and interest.
5. And therefore, when such multitudes were likely to desert
them, and withdraw from them, not only their ill-gained salaries,
hut that religious reverence which they had deceitfully gained
by their splendid superstitions, there remained no possible way
for them to regain their credit and influence, but by hypocriti-
cally pretending to embrace that religion, which was continued to
the people by the power of God.
6. By this means they could change their ground to advant-
age, and rise in wealth and honor, above their former standing,
in proportion as this new revelation was superior to any that was
past. This must eventually be the last time for their aggran-
dizement. God had sent his Son into the world, who was ex-
alted above all principality and power ; and what could be
greater, than for them to become the sons of God ?
7. Honest souls set out for this prize by taking up their cross,
and following Christ. They entered by the door of self-denial ;
but these " thieves and robbers" sought means to climb up some
other way. Simon Magus was the first ; he stood ready feignedly
to embrace the Gospel in the very start, and even to purchase
• ■ -Act? viii.
with money, that power which would raise him in the esteem of is. '
the people, to a level with the Apostles.
8. Diotrephes gained the pre-eminence, and many followed
his pernicious ways. The Alexandrian school furnished a new
race of Apostles, whose labors, through a great part of the second
and third centuries, consisted in forming a new church, wholly
different, even in its outward appearance, from the primitive
Church of Christ.
9. And this was effected by holding councils, creating offices,
and assuming titles, condemning heretics, and disputing among
themselves about their self-invented doctrines. Thus, from one
thing to another, they altered, expunged, and added, until their
Christian religion, so called, demanded the most honorable seat
in the Roman Empire, and its promoters became exalted to the
utmost pitch of pride, luxury, and temporal dominion ; by which
the nations of the earth have been deceived, even to the present
day.
10. The followers of the Orthodox Fatheks, have generally
agreed, that the establishment of the Christian religion, so called,
by the Roman emperors, was an introduction to the reign of
Christ upon earth. They have generally agreed, that Constan-
tine the Great, was the man-child, spoken of in the Revela- Kev- -xii-
Hon, who was to rule the nations; and, that the church which
brought him forth, was the true church of Christ, which, at the
150 CnURCH OF ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED. B. IV.
c5£p* expiration of twelve hundred and sixty years, would appear in
' — her latter-day-glory ; when all heresies, or false doctrines, (which
are to be considered as the flood of the dragon,) should be
swallowed up, and taken out of the way of Catholic truth.
11. It is well known, that this is the general faith of Protes-
tants, as well as that of their Mother Church, and that all
parties in the great Catholic division, consider Constantine the
Great, as the most eminent father, and founder of their religion
and government. The following remarks of President Edwards,
are conformable to the general opinion of Protestant writers on
this subject.
Hist. Re. p. 12. In his History of Redemption, he says, "I come now in
the fourth place, to the great revolution that was in the world in
the days of Constantine, which was, in many respects, like
Christ's appearing in the clouds of heaven, to save his people, and
iudo-e the world.
13. "The people of Rome, being weary of the government of
those tyrants to whom they had lately been subject, sent to Con-
stantine, who was then in the city of York in England, to. come
and take the throne. And he being encouraged, as is said, by a
vision of a pillar of light in the heavens, in the form of a cross,
in the sight of his whole army, with this inscription, By this con-
quer ; and the night following, by Christ's appearing to him in a
dream with the same cross in his hand, who directed him to make
a cross like that to be his royal standard, that his army might
fight under that banner, and assured him that he should over-
come.
14. "Accordingly he did, and overcame his enemies, took pos-
session of the imperial throne, embraced*the Christian religion,
and was the first Christian emperor that ever reigned. He came
to the throne about 320 years after Christ. There are several
things which I would take notice of, which attended or im-
mediately followed Constantine's coming to the throne.
15. "First. The Christian church was thereby wholly de-
livered from persecution. Christians had no persecutions now to
fear. Their persecutors now were all put down, and their rulers
were some of them Christians like themselves. Second. God
now appeared to execute terrible judgments on their enemies.
Rev vi is ^° ^at wnat now came to pass, might very fitly be compared to
16,17. ' their hiding themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains.
16. " Third. Heathenism now was in a great measure abol-
ished throughout the Roman empire. Images were now de-
stroyed, and heathen temples pulled clown. Images of gold
and silver were melted down, and coined into money. The
heathen priests were dispersed and banished.
17. Fourth. " Now all heathen magistrates were put down,
and only Christians were advanced to places of authority all over
B. IV. CHURCH OP ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED. 151
the empire. They had now Christian presidents, Christian gov- Cy^p'
ernors, Christian judges and officers, instead of their old heathen-
ish ones. Constantine set himself to honor the Christian bishops
or ministers, and to build and adorn churches : and now large
and beautiful Christian churches were erected in all parts of the
world, instead of the old heathen temples.
18. " This was the greatest revolution in the face of things
that ever came to pass since the flood. Satan tempted Christ,
and promised to give him the glory of the kingdoms of the world ;
but now he is obliged to give it to him even against his will.
This was a glorious fulfilment of triiat promise which God made isa. iiii.12.
to his Son, that we have an account of in Isaiah.
19. " This was a great fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old
Testament concerning the glorious time of the Gospel, and par-
ticularly of the prophecies of Daniel. Now the kingdom of hea-
ven is come in a glorious degree. It pleased the Lord God of
heaven to set up a kingdom on the ruins of that of Satan. And
now see to what a height that glorious building is raised, which
had been building ever since the fall."
20. Many things more might be added from this author, and
also from others, to show the high reputation, in which Constan-
ti?ie is held ;* that he is considered as the greatest birth, that
had ever been produced since the flood : and tins idea is still
more ingeniously stated by Whiston, and after him by Bishop
Newton, thus :
21. " For as the time of gestation from the conception to the Dissert on
birth in woman with child, is known to be forty weeks, or two ?rop™°1-
J u. p. 180.
hundred and eighty days ; so it is well known, that from the
first rise of our Saviour's kingdom, A. D. 33, till the famous pro-
clamation and edict, for the universal liberty and advancement
of Christianity by Constantine and Licinius, A. D. 313, was ex-
actly two hundred and eighty years. Reckoning according to
the prophetic account, a day for a year."
22. That Constantine laid the foundation of a vast kingdom, a
Catholic, or universal empire, is not disputed. But whether it
was the kingdom of Christ, or of antichrist, is the question.
And should it be found to be the kingdom of antichrist, which he
set in order, then his descent must be reckoned from Simoii Ma-
gus, who was cotemporary with the Apostles, and not from Jesus
of Nazareth.
* The following comment (on Rev. xii. 5, 6, &c.) by certain learned divines, so
called, mny also serve as a striking proof, to show the exalted veneration in which
Constantine and his successors are held by the defenders of hisfiiith — viz : A man-
child caught up to God and his throne: " Meaning ("say they) Constantine and
his successors to the Roman empire, and made God s deputies sitting as it were on
his throne" — War in Heaven: [" A great battle in the Church of Cod," i.e. in
the Church of the Catholics — Michael and his Angels:"] "Constantine and his
soldiers, &c" See Assembly's Annotations on the place. Lon. Ed. 1651.
152 CHURCH OF ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED. B. IV
°H£P- 23. If Christ Jesus was truly the Son of God, and if the pri-
! — mitive Church was his real body, so long as that Church remain-
ed, and Christ Jesus reigned in it, what need could there be of
another birth or bringing forth of the same ? And if it is estab-
lished, that another gestation commenced in the very year that
Simon the sorcerer professed faith in Christ, and offered to pur-
chase the power of God with money, and that birth took place in
the same year that Constantine and Lici?iius proclaimed univer-
sal liberty, then what could it be but the birth of antichrist ?
24. And especially, if it is found that both the body and spirit
brought forth in this latter period, is essentially different from
the body and spirit of the first Christian Church, then it must
follow, beyond all contradiction,' that the Church established by
Constantine, is the body and spirit of antichrist ; and of course,
that all such as have sprung from that body and spirit, or claim
any relation thereto, are properly members of antichrisfs king-
dom, and stand in no relation to Christ the true Son of God.
25. Is it not surprising, how any sensible man could avoid
seeing the plain contrast between the spirit and works of Co?i-
stantine, and those of the primitive Christians ? And how could
any have the confidence to appropriate the name of the true God,
or of Christ his Son, to a haughty, and blood-thirsty Pagan, who.
through scenes of human butchery, established himself at the
head of a religion, of which he knew nothing, but the name.
26. Where is the least resemblance of the innocent Jesus,
even according to their own account ? Was it in accepting the
glory of the kingdoms of this world? Surely here the con-
trast is perfect : and so it continues in every branch of his pro-
ceedings.
27. This is manifest from his conduct in spreading desolation
and destruction through the empire, butchering or banishing his
former brethren, taking their property, and coining their gold
and silver into money for his own use ; in honoring, and pro-
moting the same kind of men, for their feigned profession of
Christianity, to posts of honor and profit. In building temples,
different in name, but as magnificent, and ornamented with as
splendid images, as those which he destroyed. And all this they
ascribe to the mighty power of God, above all that had ever
appeared since the flood, Jesus and his Apostles not excepted!
28. How is it possible that any man of sense could be so im-
posed upon, as to believe that the sacred Scriptures, written by
the persecuted John, was fulfilled in the frighted nonconformists
hiding themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains,
from Lord Constantine, who sat upon the throne of Augustus,
and from the wrath of that wild and furious emperor, who was
the first that had the assurance to shed human blood, under the
ensign of a cross.
B. IV.
CHURCH OP ANTICHRIST ESTABLISHED.
153
29. Happily, the tree is known by its fruit : and therefore,
we shall observe a little more particularly, the fruits of this great
revolution ; from which it will appear still more evident, that it
was not Christ, but antichrist, who accepted of that temporal
honor, power and preferment, by which he adjusted matters in
his Catholic or universal church, so as to prepare for his unlim-
ited ecclesiastical reisru.
30. It may be instructive here to add the following from Mil-
ner's Chh. History, to show the causes which prepared the way
for the corrupt dominion of Constantine, and for the ascen-
dancy which the abominable power of antichrist attained during
that period.
31. " Dioclesian began to reign A. D. 284. For the space
of eighteen years, he was extremely indulgent to Christians.
His most important officers were Christians ; their wives and fami-
lies openly professed the Gospel. Christians held honorable offices
in various parts of the kingdom. Innumerable crowds attended
the Christian worship. " What wonderful Christians these
were ! and what fine times they had ! Were these the true de-
scendants of the primitive Church ? Let us look a little at the
results.
32. "If" (says Milner) "Christ's kingdom had been of this
world, we should here fix the era of its greatness. But, on the
contrary, the era of its actual declension must be dated in the
pacific part of Dioclesian'' s reign. During the whole century,
the work of God, in purity and power, had been tending to decay.
Its connection with philosophers was one of the principal causes.
Outward peace, and secular [worldly] advantages completed the
corruption. Bishops and people were in a state of malice ; end-
less quarrels were fermented among contending parties, and am-
bition and covetousness had, in general, gained the ascendancy in
the Christian Church."
33. "Under the reign of Constantine," Milner says, "If we
look at the external appearance of Christianity, nothing can be
more splendid." Constantine " erects Churches exceedingly
sumptuous and ornamented. He destroys idol temples, prohibits
impious Pagan rites," &c. "How corrupt is human nature,"
(says Milner.) [Ah! but rather how corrupt is that church,
falsely called Christian ?]
34. Bitter feuds, contentions, and the most unworthy spirit of
avarice and ambition, appear very prevalent. Men were ripe for
a perversion of doctrine. Origen gave the first handle ; Eusebius,
the historian, with cautious prudence, was fomenting the evils ;
"while the christian world at large was torn to pieces with vio-
lence, intrigue, and scandalous animosities."
35. What man of candor and reflection will say that the
Church, under Constantine, was not a fahe and corrupt Church?
11
CHAP.
VII.
Mil. vol. i.
chap. xvii.
p. 232.
Ibid. chap,
ii. p. 274-5
B. IV. CHARACTER OF CONSTANTINE, &C. 155
it follows, that it was neither Christ Jesus, nor any of his follow- Cy^p*
ers, that repealed or contradicted his doctrines, hut cunning de-
ceivers who crept in unawares.
7. If there was any truth in the story of Const antine's seeing
a vision, it was not Christ that appeared to him, to encourage
him to the battle ; hut the father of deception " transformed into ?4Cor,3i"
the appearance of an angel of light."
8. It is readily granted, that Co?ista?tti?ie effected a great rev-
olution, by incorporating together the civil and ecclesiastical
powers under the name of Christ ; for which his followers exalt
him above all that had been called God ; yet they are greatly
mistaken, when they suppose that his motley empire exceeded in
temporal glory, the kingdom of Solomon.* The fact is, it fell *h2^hrtm'
vastly short : then with how much less propriety must it bear
any comparison to the spiritual kingdom of the Prince of Peace !
9. Instead of being greater than Solomon, this great head of
the orthodox churches must, in fact, appear less than the least in
the kingdom of heaven ; that is, such a one as in no case can
enter into it, t as is most strikingly evident from the following tMat. v.
19 20
concession. '
10. "It must indeed be confessed," (says Mosheim,) "that the Ecci. His-
life and actions of this prince, were not such as the Christian re- j,0^ 314'
ligion demands from those who profess to believe its sublime doc-
trines. It is also certain, that, from his conversion to the last
period of his life, he continued in the state of a catechumen, and
was not received by baptism into the number of the faithful,
until a few days before his death, when that sacred rite was ad-
ministered to him at Nicomedia, by Eusebius, bishop of that
place.
11. " For it was a custom with many, in this century, to put
off their baptism to the last hour, that thus immediately after
receiving by this rite the remission of their sins, they might
ascend pure and spotless to the mansions of life and immortality."
12. So far the principles and practices of this Catholic emperor
are simply stated ; the next thing then is to garnish over the whited
sepulchre, and try to prove him a sincere Christian. And to
effect this, his wicked life and actions are covered up in such
false and unscriptural reasoning as the following :
13. "Nor are the crimes of Constantine any proof of the in-
sincerity of his profession, since nothing is more evident, though
it be strange and unaccountable, than that many who believe, in
the firmest manner, the truth and divinity of the Gospel, yet
violate its laws by repeated transgressions, and live in contra-
* diction to their own inward principles."
14. Was there ever a plainer mark of an antichrist ? Who
can be more justly entitled to that character than a man, who
believes the truth and divinity of the Gospel, and yet lives in
156 CHARACTER OF CONSTANTINE, &C. B. IV.
chap, contradiction to his own inward principles ? And because, under
the doctrines of Christ, this had become common, therefore, it
Isa.xxx.i- must be used as an apology for Const antine's wickedness ! " Woe
to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, hut
not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin."
15. If it were granted that Christianity came to Constantine,
through the mongrel bishops, in such a dress, and that neither
he, nor his civil officers, ever heard the true Gospel from a living
man of God, (which was most likely the case,) this might be some
excuse for his professing to be a Christian, while his practice was
directly contrary to his profession.
16. But, even admitting that his principles were formed, in
any sense, according to the doctrine of Christ ; yet if he lived in
contradiction to his principles, it must have constituted him an
antichrist; that is, having Christ in principle, and living against
Tnus, i. ig. ]1jm jn practice.
17. They that have not Christ in some sense or other, cannot
Hebvi. 6. crucify him. But apprehending him by faith, and living a life
iv.5John' contrary to his life, is both crucifying him afresh, and putting
2 John. 7. him to an open shame. OCT* This is a deceiver and an antichrist;
and this is the most prominent character of the great Con-
stantine, even as exhibited by his friends and followers.
18. It possibly was the inward principle of this great man to
live in peace; but this he found to be impossible, at the head of
an avaricious, contentious, and aspiring priesthood. He found
it impossible to serve two masters ; and therefore, when he set
himself to honor and promote the bishops, he must of course, at
the same time, set himself to dishonor the name of Jesus, -and
put away the true spirit of the Gospel.
19. Hence all his mighty works, which he wrought under the
influence of these sanctimonious deceivers, are such as will be
eternally disclaimed by every follower of the meek and lowly
Saviour. Even while the corrupters of the Gospel wrere exulting
in the great advancement of their Church, established under
Christian Presidents, Christian Magistrates, and Christian
Officers of every rank, there were many souls who viewed this
event as a horrible prelude to the total overthrow of the pure
doctrine and manners of the Apostolic Church.
20. Nor did those Catholic betrayers of the rights of con-
science long enjoy their ill-founded confidence of universal
empire ; for a house divided against itself cannot stand. It was
but a little while, before the chief prohioters of the Catholic,
cause were up in arms against each other.
Ec. Hist. 21. "The joy" (says Mosheim) "with which the Christians
vol. i.p. were elated, on account of the favorable edicts of Constantine
and Licinius, was soon interrupted by the war which broke out
Mat. xii
25.
B. IV. CHARACTER OF CONSTANTINE, &C. 157
between these two princes." Here this great man-child, as they c^fjP-
call him, enters the list with his own colleague, and in the year .
314, by a pitched battle, they settle the point, which of them
shall be the greatest.
22. Next, the character of Constantine must be built upon ibid, note
the ruins of that of Licinius, and even Julian, whom they call
the apostate, is quoted to prove that Licinius was an infamous
tyrant, a profligate, abandoned to all sorts of wickedness. It is
easy to see how much honor is reflected on the Catholic cause
from this character of one of its principal pillars.
23. But, if facts will demonstrate a character as clearly as
words, then we may judge from the following, whether Licinius
or Constantine was the most infamous tyrant. We find it
stated, by Mosheim, that, "After several battles fought be- ^.Hist.
tween them, Licinius was reduced to the necessity of throwing 318.
himself at the victor's feet, and imploring his clemency ; which
however, he did not long enjoy; for he was strangled by the
orders of CqMtantine, in the year 325."*
24. Much has been said about David murdering Uriah, that
he might enjoy his wife; David only had Uriah placed in the
front of the battle, yet it is called murder; then what shall be
said of the conduct of Constantine toward his former colleague,
and now humble suppliant Licinius, in ordering him to be stran-
gled ? Truly it may be said that, Cain like, he sleiv his brother.
•According to Lardner, it appears that Licinius (to whom Constantine, in
the time of their friendship, had given his sister Constautia in marriage) was
put to death at Thessalonica, after Constantine had reduced him to a private
condition, and promised him his life. Lardner observes that, " Many ancient
writers charge Constantine with a breach of faith in this matter." Nor is this
the only crime of the kind alleged against Constantine. He had already dis-
patched his father in law, Maximian, whose son, Maxentius, he was at war with,
at the time of his pretended conversion. After this, (in 314, or 315,) he put to
death Bassianus, to whom he had married his sister Jnastasia. In the year
326, he put to death his son Crispus, and his nephew Licinianus, or Licinius
the. younger; the former about twenty-five years of age, and the latter about
eleven. Next came Fausta his wife, the daughter of Maiimian, who was put to
death not long after the two last. After giving an account of these three last,
Lardner adds, " These are the executions, which above all others, cast a reflec-
tion upon the reign of Constantine; though there are also hints of the death of
some others about the same time, with whom Constantine had till then lived in
friendship." See Lardner's Works, Vol. IV. p. 172-176.
The causes which excited Constantine to put to death so many of his relations,
appear to be veiled in obscurity; and perhaps designedly so, in order to conceal
from the world crimes which the friends of Constantine cculd not justify, and
dare not condemn. From the hints given by various writers, Lardner thinks it
likely that the death of Licinius and his son was brought about by Constantine
in order to secure the empire in his own family : and that the death of Crispus
was probably occasioned by the instigation of his step-mother Fausta; who, for
the same reasons that Constantine was desirous to secure the empire in his own
family, was concerned to secure it to his issue by her, in preference to Crispus,
who was his son by a former wife. Among the causes to which Fausta's death is
attributed, the account given by Zosimus seems not unlikely : viz. (i Helena, the
mother of -Constantine, being extremely grieved at the death of Crispus, excited
Constantine to revenge it on Fausta, the adviser of it." It is asserted, by tho
same author, that he sent and had her suffocated in a bath.
158 CHARACTER OP CONSTANTINE, &C. B. IV.
CvmP' 25. Was this breaking one of the least, or one of the greatest
_____ commandments! I came not, (says Christ,) to destroy the Law,
nor to destroy meii's lives. " Thou shalt not kill." It may be
said, Licinius was an enemy. But where did Christ say thou
tMat. v. shalt kill thine enemies, and slay them that despitefully use
44- you ? t
26. Here, then, is so manifest a difference between Christ, and
the Roman emperor, that the one came to save men's lives, and
the other to destroy even the humble suppliant, who cast himself
at his feet imploring his clemency. Here was a fair opportunity
of proving the spirit of Const antine.
27. Was he possessed of the meek and merciful spirit of
Christ, or with the cruel and merciless spirit of a tyrant, when
he ordered Licinius to be strangled ! For his manifest object was
to possess his dominion and reign sole lord of the empire ; which
he did from that period until his death.
28. Under such circumstances, it might argue some degree
of candor in Constantine, to decline being numbe^pi among the
faithful till he was past committing such bloody crimes. But
who could assure him that his blood-guiltiness could, in the end,
be washed away with a little water ? Surely this delusion of anti-
christ belonged to the priesthood.
29. It will further appear evident, beyond dispute, that it was
not the cause of Christ, but the Church of antichrist, that Con-
stantine espoused, if we consider the fruits of his spirit, which
appeared in his successors.
Ecci. His- 30. " After the death of Constantine, which happened in the
*01_jV3i9 year 337, his three sons, Constantine II, Constantius, and Con-
stans, were, in consequence of his appointment, put in possession
of the empire, and were all saluted as emperors and Augustii by
the Roman senate.
31. " There were yet living two brothers of the late emperor,
viz. Constantius Delmatius, and Julius Constantius, and they
had several sons. These the sons of Constantine ordered to be
put to death, lest their ambitious views should excite troubles in
the empire. And they all fell victims to this barbarous order, ex-
cept Gallus and Julian, the sons of Julius Constantius, the lat-
ter of whom rose afterwards to the imperial dignity."
32. Here, was manifested, the first fruits of that spirit which
flowed from this imperial head of the Catholic church to his suc-
cessors— a cruel massacre of their nearest relations, from a sor-
did thirst of empire ? And what was the language of this horrid
and barbarous act to the subordinate members of their motley
government ? Surely it must be this, Be ye followers of us,
even as we are of Constantine.
33. The bloody murderers, however, could not long agree
ibid. p. 320. among themselves. "The dominions allotted to Constantine,
B. IV. CHARACTER OF CONSTANTINE, &C. 159
were Britain, Gaul and Spain; but he did not possess them CyIfIp'
long, for, having made himself master, by force, of several places
belonging to Consta?is, this occasioned a war between the two
brothers, in the year 340, in which Constantine lost his life."
34. Const ans, the conqueror, now became sole master of all
the western provinces, of which he remained in possession until
the year 350, when he was cruelly assassinated by Magnentius,
one of his commanders, who afterwards, in a fit of rage and des-
pair at his ill success in a war against Gonstantizis, laid violent
Lands upon himself: and lastly, Consiantius died in the year
361, at Mopsucrene, as he was marching against Julian.
35. Such were the successors of Constantine, whom the
Christian world, so called, respect as the great pillars of their
religious establishment. And though guilty of the most horrid
and barbarous crimes, yet are honored and applauded under the
beautiful mask of a Christian profession, following the example
of their father, (as Moshcim expresses it) " in continuing to abro-
gate and efface the ancient superstitions of the Romans and other
idolatrous nations, and to accelerate the progress of the Christian
religion throughout the empire."
36. But observe what follows : " This flourishing progress of
the Christian religion was greatly interrupted, and the church re-
duced to the brink of destruction, when Julian, the son of Ju-
lius Constantius was placed at the head of affairs." •
37. What is the matter now ? This prince, though he had
been educated in the principles of Christianity, "yet " (says Mo-
sheim) " he apostatized from that divine religion." And pray
what was the cause of this apostasy? The answer is, " It was
partly owing to his aversion to the Constantine family, who
had embrued their hands in the blood of his father, brother, and
kinsman." It was therefore, not from the religion of Jesus, but
from that of bloody murderers, that he apostatized.
38. "Julian" (adds the doctor,) "affected, in general, to Hid. p. 323
appear moderate in religious matters, unwilling to trouble any
on account of their faith, or to seem averse to any sect or party."
And because he allowed equal liberty to all, or, as Bobinson ex-
presses it, " The just and gentle Julian, because he headed Ecci.Re-
neither party, and put off the purple unstained with the blood of 139.
heretics, both sides agree to execrate him as a diabolical apos-
tate."
39. And strange as it may seem, this mild and equitable gov-
ernment, under Julian, is by some of the most eminent ortho-
dox divines, included in the flood which the dragon, i.e. the
devil, poured out of his mouth to destroy the woman, i.e. the
church, and her son, the Boman emperor.
40. But, having examined this man-child, which they have
exalted, not only to God and to his throne, but above all that is
1G0 CHARACTER OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. B. IV.
chap. ix. Calhd God, we shall leave him at present, and examine a little
further into the spirit and conduct of the mother of harlots that
bore him.
CHAPTER IX.
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, IN THE
SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH CENTURIES.
Whoever examines the accounts given by historians, of the
nature and genius of that religion which was established by the
Catholic fathers, under the name of Christianity, will find that
it differs as widely from the work of the Holy Spirit in the pri-
mitive Church of Christ, as did their imperial forms of govern-
ment.
2. In fact, their religion was all of a kind; and therefore, in-
stead ofta-etaining that divine power, .which, in the days of the
Apostles, manifested itself in every good word and work, they
adopted a vain parade of external rites and ceremonies, resem-
bling those of the Jews and Pagans.
3. These they united to their corrupt doctrines; and, for the
support and propagation of both, they, in process of time, raised
the arm of persecution against all such as were so far enlightened
as to differ from them, and so presumptuous, in their esteem, as
to think and act for themselves.
4. From the first formation of the Catholic system, before
ever Const antine ascended the throne, the principal account that
is given of the religion of the self-styled orthodox, is, their either
practising old rites and ceremonies, or inventing new ones, which
put them still at a greater distance from every appearance of the
humble followers of Jesus.
5. Many there were, however, who could not conform to these
absurd innovations, who consequently were looked upon as per-
sons of no religion, and against whom the most bloody persecu-
tions were raised, as soon as the aid of civil power was attained ;
the cruel and lawless spirit of which has, more or less, continued
to the present day.
6. Prom all that has been written concerning the rise and pro-
gress of this Catholic religion, even by their own historians, it is
plain, that the most distinguishing marks of it, are, superstition
B. IV. CHARACTER. OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 161
and 'persecution; of which we shall here insert a brief account chap.ix.
from their early beginning.
7. By superstition is meant, any religious offering, act, or per-
formance, for which there is no present order, or command from
heaven ; but which is either invented or practised to serve the
selfish ends of some human priesthood, and subserve the purposes 2 Tim. jv.
and passions of a corrupt nature ; and hence, the vain supersti- '3> 4-
tions of the Catholic church, took their rise, with those bishops
and priests, who substituted their own natural wit and learning,
instead of the spirit of inspiration ; from which alone the mind of
G-od could be known.
8. It therefore made no difference what they set up for reli-
gion ; whether it was some new invention of their own, or some
rite and ceremony, which might formerly have been of Divine
appointment ; inasmuch as there was no express command of
God, to them, in the case: of course, whatever they introduced,
must be, to them, a matter of their own superstition ; which will
manifestly appear from what is stated concerning their reasons
for first introducing superfluous rites and ceremonies into the
Catholic church.
9. Mosheim says, "In this [second] century, many unneces- Ecci.Hist.
sary rites and ceremonies were added to the Christian [i.e. J^Yse™
Catholic] worship ; the introduction of which was extremely offen-
sive to wise and good men. These changes, while they destroyed
the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel, were naturally pleasing to
the gross multitude, who are more delighted with the pomp and
splendor of external institutions, than with the native charms of
rational and solid piety, and who generally give little attention
to any objects but those which strike their outward senses."
10. " It is not improper to remark here, that this attachment of iWd. note
the vulgar to the pomp of ceremonies, is a circumstance that has
always been favorable to the ambitious views of the Romish
[i.e. Catholic] clergy, since the pomp of religion naturally casts
a part of its glory and magnificence upon its ministers, and
thereby gives them, imperceptibly, a vast ascendant over the
minds of the people."
11. Then, as an aspiring and self-interested clergy have had
the modelling of this Catholic religion from the beginning, it is
evident that its rites and ceremonies, throughout, are merely the
fruits of human ambition, and not of any Divine appointment.
This is evidently implied by Mosheim, when he says, " That the ibid.p.i97,
bishops augmented the number of religious rites by way of 19S-
accommodation to the infirmities and prejudices of both Jews
and heathens, in order to facilitate their conversion.
12. "Both Jews and heathens were accustomed to a vast
variety of pompous and magnificent ceremonies in their religious
service. And as they considered these rites as an essential part
162 CHARACTER OF THE CATHOLIC CniTRCH. B. IV.
chap. ix. 0f i-eligioxi, it was but natural that they should behold, with in-
difference, and qven with contempt, the simplicity of the Chris-
tian worship, which was destitute of those idle ceremonies that
rendered their service so specious and striking.
13. "To remove this prejudice against Christianity, the bis-
hops thought it necessary to increase the number of rites and
ceremonies." And by this means it seems they also designed
" to remove the opprobrious calumnies, which the Jewish and
Pagan priests cast upon the Christians, on account of the
simplicity of their worship, esteeming them little better than
atheists, because they had no temples, altars, victims, priests,
nor any thing of external pomp in which the vulgar are so prone
to place the essence of religion."
14. Can any thing be plainer, than that this Catholic religion
principally consisted in reviving their ancient superstitions under
a new name ? And therefore, as early as the second century, the
followers of Saccas adopted the Jewish titles of chief priests,
priests, and Levites.
Ecei. His- 15. "But in a little time," (says Mosheim,) "these titles
pTm01'1' wcl'e abused by an aspiring clergy, who thought proper to. claim
the same rank and station, the same rights and privileges, that
were conferred, with those titles, upon the ministers of religion
under the Mosaic Dispensation."
16. " Hence the rise of tithes, first fruits, splendid garments,
and many other circumstances of external grandeur, by which
ecclesiastics were eminently distinguished." In like manner,
the comparison of the pious gifts of Christians, with the Jewish
victims, oblations, and sacrifices, produced a multitude of un-
necessary rites, "and was the occasion" (says Mosheim) "of
introducing H73 that erroneous notion of the eucharist, which
represents it as a real sacrifice." And under this erroneous
notion it has been continued among the Catholics to the present
day.
ibid.p.200. 17. "The profound respect that was paid to the Greek and
Roman mysteries, and the extraordinary sanctity that was
attributed to them, induced the Christians [or rather the Catholic
bishops] to give their religion a mystic air, in order to put it
upon an equal footing in point of dignity, with that of the
Pagans." For this purpose the eucharist, or as some call it, the
Lord's supper, and baptism, were denominated mysteries.
18. They used in those institutions the very terms employed
in the heathen mysteries; and proceeded so far, at length, as
even to adopt some of the rites and ceremonies of which these
renowned mysteries consisted. So that a great part of the
service of the church, in this century, had a certain air of the
heathen mysteries, and resembled them considerably in many
particulars.
B. IV.
CHARACTER OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
163
19. As early as the second century, the Catholics celebrated
anniversary festivals in commemoration of the death and resur-
rection of Jesus. That which was observed as the anniversary
of his death, they called the paschal day, or passover. They
fasted during the great week, (as they called it) in which Christ
was crucified; and afterwards celebrated a feast, like the Jews,
at which they distributed the paschal lamb.
20. This was the great festival; but, unhappily, they could
not agree about the time of celebrating it ; which was a particu-
lar means of setting them to quarreling among themselves, and
striving who should be that Great High Priest, to whom all the
rest must be subject.
21. Robinson says, " Victor, bishop of Rome, was an African,
and he was the first bishop who presumed to send an order to all
the churches of Asia to keep the passover when he did, for he
kept it, forsooth, when Peter did. Poly crates, bishop of Ephc-
. sus, sent him word in the name of all the Aarons of Asia, that
they would not alter their custom, for they kept the passover
when John kept it.
22. " Victor, with true African rage, got together a few
neighboring Levites, and held a meeting which he named a
CO7 O
council, and excommunicated all the bishops of the East.
Cyprian that other Carthaginian zealot, excommunicated Ste-
phen, bishop of Rome, because, truly, he would not rebaptize
heretics as the African ordered him. Stephen returned the
compliment, and in this manner they cursed and combated till
the Roman bishop obtained the victory."
23. Thus, their mysteries and festivals were adopted as their
main articles and terms of communion, instead of righteousness
and peace; and a set of profligate gentry, no better, in reality,
than Pagans, were set up to enforce and administer these empty
rites to a deluded multitude, as the great and only means of
salvation.
24. In the celebration of the eucharist, the bread and wine
was consecrated by the prayers of the bishops. The wine was
mixed with water, and the bread divided into several portions.
A part of the consecrated bread and wine was carried to the sick
or absent members; and, as it was considered essential to salva-
tion, it was administered even to infants, during this century.
25. Baptism was administered publicly twice a year, at the
festivals of Easter and Pentecost. " The persons that were to
be baptized," (says Mosheim,) " after they had repeated the
Creed, confessed and renounced their sins, were immersed under
water, and received into Christ's kingdom by a solemn invoca-
tion of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
26. After baptism they received the sign of the cross, were
anointed with oil, consecrated by prayers and imposition of
CHAP. IX.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. i.
p. 202, 203.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
135.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. l.
p. 206.
Second
Century.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. i.
p. 207.
16-1 CHARACTER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. B. IV.
chap. ix. hands, and received milk and honey, which concluded the cere-
moiry. UZ/^ God-fathers were, at this time, instituted to answer
for adult persons, and afterwards even for infants.
-7. In the third century, their superstitions still increased.
Their places of public worship were embellished with images and
other ornaments j and the discourses addressed to the people,
were wholl}r of a different cast from those of the simple and sin-
cere followers of Christ.
ibid, p 282. 28. " F°r> not to saJ anything of DC/^ Origen, who introduced
long sermons, and was the first who explained the scriptures in
his discourses, several bishops, who had received their education
in the schools of the rhetoricians, were exactly scrupulous, in
adapting their public discourses to the rules of Grecian eloquence.
And this method gained such credit, as to be soon, almost
universally followed."
29. Those who were in a penitential state, and those who had
not received the sacrament of baptism, were, at this time,
debarred from their sanctimonious supper; "and it is not
ibid. p.2S3. difficult" (says Mosheim) "to perceive, that these exclusions
were an imitation of what was practised in the heathen mysteries."
"This pompous rite was, at this period, administered in golden
and silver vessels : and by all, it was considered as essential to
salvation."
30. A long course of trial and preparation was now deemed
necessary in order to baptism, and the remission of sins was
thought to be its immediate and happy fruit. It was adminis-
tered only in the presence of those who had been initiated into
ibid. p. 2? t. t\\a mystery of the supper. " And we have only to add," (says
Mosheim,) "that none were admitted to this solemn ordinance,
until, by the menacing and foi-midable shouts and declamation of
the exorcist, they had been delivered from the dominion of the
prince of darkness."
31. "The origin of this superstitious ceremony may be easily
traced, when we consider the prevailing opinions of the times,"
which according to the Egyptian philosophy, attributed all the
corrupt propensities and evil actions of men to the influence and
impulse of a certain spirit or evil being within them, " who was
perpetually compelling them to sin."
ibid p. 285. 32. " The driving out of this demon was now considered as an
essential preparation for baptism, after the administration of
which, the candidates returned home, adorned with crowns, and
arrayed in white garments — emblems of their purity, and victory
over sin and the world." A consistent writer would rather have
styled them masks of hypocrisy, whereby they might cover their
inward corruption and guilt, while they lived in sin, and perfect
union with the world.
33. Great sanctity was now attributed to the practice of fast-
3. IV CHARACTER OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 165
ing ; aud "the sign of the cross was supposed to administer a chap ix.
victorious power over all sorts of trials aud calamities; aud was ibid. p. 286.
more especially considered as the surest defence agaiust the
snares and stratagems of malignant spirits."
34. Had the Church of Christ degenerated into this dark and
senseless superstition, Satan might have triumphed indeed ; but
all he had to boast, was merely of leading the subjects of his
own dark kingdom into grosser darkness ; and even, turning into
darkness, those reflections of light, which they had received from
the saints. It was the work only of "evil men and seducers, 2 Tim. Hi.
who waxed vjorse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.'"
35. We will here add the following confession of Cyprian,
presbyter and prelate of the Church at Carthage, who lost his
life iii the persecution under "Valerian, A. D., 258. In a
letter which he wrote before his death, he says: "It must be
owned and confessed, that the outrages and heavy calamity which
hath almost devoured our flock, and continues to devour it to the
present day, hath happened to us because of our sins, since we
keep not the way of the Lord, nor observe his heavenly com-
mandments.
36. " Our principle study is to get money and estate ; we follow
after pride ; we are at leisure for nothing but emulation and quar-
reling, and have neglected the simplicity of faith. "We have re-
nounced this world in words only, and not in deed. Every one
studies to please himself, and to displease others."
37. On this sad picture of the state of Christianity, Jones,
remarks, " Cyprian's account is confirmed by the testimony jonesChh.
of Eusebius, (the historian) who was nearly cotemporary with p^f; ^fj"
him." 1832- J
38. In the fourth century, their vain superstitions surpass
description. Moskeim says, "It would be almost endless to Eccl Hi3.
enter into a minute detail of all the different parts of public wor- tory.voU.
ship." The rites and institutions of the Greeks and Romans p'3:!0'
were adopted by the Catholic bishops with some slight altera-
tions.
39. "They imagined that the nations would embrace their ibid. p.3S2,
doctrines and come under their government with more facility,
when they saw the rites and ceremonies to which they were
accustomed, adopted by their church, and the same worship paid
to Jesus and his martyrs, which they offered to their fictitious
gods and heroes. "
40. Could they possibly have taken a readier way to disgrace
the name of Christ? Was it not in effect placing him on the same
list with those beastly characters whom the heathens worshipped
as gods, and whose worse than brutal actions they commemorated
in their festivals and acts of worship? or was it not in reality
setting up the same spirit ot beastly wickedness, and worshipping
1GG CHARACTER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. B. IV.
chap, ix. t]1G ieasl an(j ]ais followers under the perverted names of Christ
and his faithful martyrs'?
41. Thus, while they called themselves orthodox Christians,
they practised Paganism, and to the wicked, became more
wicked, that they might subject the wicked to their ungodly
lbid.P.3S2. dominion. "Hence it happened," (says Mosheim) "that, in
these times, the religion of the Greeks and Romans differed very
little, in its external appearance, from that of the Christians.'"
[He ought to have said, from that of these hypocrites.']
42. " They had both a most pompous and splendid ritual.
Gorgeous robes, mitres, tiaras, wax-tapers, crosiers, processions,
lustrations, images, gold and silver vases, and many such cir-
cumstances of pageantry, were equally to be seen in the heathen
temples, and the Christian [i.e. Catholic] Churches."
ibid. P. 383. 43. "No .sooner had Constantine the Great abolished
the superstitions of his ancestors, than magnificent churches
were everywhere erected for the Christians, which were richly
adorned with pictures and images, and bore a striking resem-
blance to the Pagan temples, both in their outward and inward
form.
44. " Some of these churches were built over the tombs of
martyrs, and were frequented only at stated times ; while others
were set apart for ordinary assemblies. Both of them were con-
secrated with great pomp, and with certain rites borrowed,
mostly, from the ancient laws of the Roman pontiffs," or Pagan
priests.
ibid.p.385, 45. "In consequence of a peculiar law enacted by tt7° Con-
stantine, the first day of the week was observed with more
solemnity than it had formerly been.* The psalms of David
were now received among the public hymns that were sung as a
part of divine service. Their prayers degenerated into a vain
and swelling bombast."
46. " The sermons addressed to the people — were rather
adapted to excite the stupid admiration of the populace, who
delight in vain embellishments, than to enlighten the understand-
ing, or to reform the heart." Five yearly festivals were at this
time established, none of which were kept with so much super-
stition as the fourteen days appointed for the commemoration of
Christ's resurrection.
* It appears that, in the second century, there were various opinions concerning
the day of the week proper to be kept as a day of worship. Some observed the
sixth day, in remembrance of the crucifixion; others the fourth, the day on which
Christ was betrayed; some observed the first, in memory of the resurrection; and
others retained the Jewish sabbath. But what must we think of Constantine's
law enjoining more solemnity to the first day of the week ? Was it really in-
tended that the people should be more solemnly engaged in the worship of God on
that day ? or was it not rather intended to make the celebration of the clay equal,
in pomp and splendor, to the magnificence of his Churches, which were so richly
adorned v/ith pictures and images.
336
B. IV.
CHARACTER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
167
47. "But the unlucky success, (says Mosheim,) which some chap.ix..
had iu discovering the carcases of certain holy men, multiplied Ibid 3b7_
ike festivals and commemorations of the martyrs in the most ex-
travagant manner. Nor was this all : certain tombs were falsely ibid. p. 357.
given out for the sepulchres of saints and confessors ; the list of
the saints was augmented with fictitious names, and even robbers
were converted into martyrs."
48. Neither were these festivals employed in any manner
that either Christ or any of his followers could approve, but
"were squandered away in indolence, voluptuousness, and crim-
inal pursuits, and in the indulgence of sinful passions " — as it is
to this day.
49. We might add, their establishing set fasts, at this period, Ecd. His-
by express laws, of which the Lent fast was held more sacred than p° 388/389.
all the rest — erecting baptismal fonts in the porch of each church
— casting salt into the month of the baptized person, as an em-
blem of something which they had not in possession — using a
double anointing — celebrating their mystical supper, at the tombs
of the martyrs, and holding up the bread and wine to the igno-
rant multitude as objects of adoration — performing masses in
honor of the saints, and for the benefit of the dead : and many
such vain superstitions which their own historians consider too
numerous and contemptible to be related.
50. It is therefore an undeniable fact, justly stated by Moskeim,
that (in the fourth century) " the progress and the baleful in-
fluence of superstition, was now become universal ! " To this we
may add the testimony of Eusebius. The state of the profes-
sing Christian Churches in the latter part of the third, and be-
ginning of the fourth century, is by Eusebius thus stated :
"Through too much liberty, they grew negligent and slothful, jonesChh.
envying and reproaching one another; waging as it were, civil Hlst p-152-
wars among themselves, bishops quarreling with bishops, and
the people divided into parties."
51. " Hypocrisy and deceit were grown to the greatest pitch of
wickedness. The bishops themselves had thrown off all concern
about religion ; were perpetually contending with one another ;
and did nothing but quarrel with, and threaten, envy, and hate
one another ; they were full of ambition, and tyranieally used
their power." What rational mind can believe this to be the
true Church of Christ ?
52. And yet this is the Clnirch which, for many ages, has
pretended to be the light of the world, and this the kind of reli-
gion that has been artfully substituted in the place of that true
holiness of heart and life, which distinguished the primitive
Church.
53. But whoever will take the pains to examine the spirit of
their religion, will find that this vain parade of Jewish and Pa-
1G8
PERSECUTING SriRIT OP B. IV.
. chap. x. gan superstition, had no relation to the spirit and work of
Christ, and that the Church in which it was established, stood in
perfect contrast to the real Church of Christ, and was a perpetual
disgrace to the name which they assumed.
CHAPTER X.
THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, IN THE
THIRD AND FOURTH *CENTURIES.
Persecution is a general chai'acter of the Catholic religion.
This was founded upon the supposed orthodoxy, and sacred au-
thority of the Catholic priesthood : and this authority they re-
ceived in a proper line of succession from their Pagan ancestors,
by whose diabolical influence, the blood of those same martyrs
was shed, whom their Catholic successors deceitfully pretended
to worship.
2. It is proper to observe against whom this spirit of persecu-
tion was directed, and in what manner it operated in different
periods. It was not before the fourth century, that the Catholic
bishops personally engaged in the unnatural and beastly work of
destroying heretics for their religion, but it is certain, that they
had all along contributed much to the flame of persecution by
their tongues and pens.
3. According to the kind and the degree of power they possess-
ed, so at different periods, they manifested, by their works, that
it was not for the promotion of truth and virtue, but for its des-
truction, that their orthodoxy was established; and as far as
orthodoxy was considered the chief and most honorable virtue, so
far heresy was made the principal and only crime.
4. Amidst the dark and senseless superstitions that prevailed
in the Catholic Church during the second and third centuries,
there were many under different names, who maintained the prac-
tice of true virtue, according to the precepts and example of
Christ. These are all distinguished, in history, under the one
general name of heretics.
5. In the third century, Mosheim says, " The Montanists, [i.e.
those who assembled for religious worship, among the mountains,
to avoid their persecutors] Vahntinians, Marcionites and other
heretics continued still to draw out their forces."
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 169
6. Adelphius and Aquilinus, were at this time the greatest chap. x.
disturbers of the Catholic peace. Mosheim says, "They were, Ecci.Hist.
however, opposed not only by the [pretended] Christians, but voLi.p.
also by Plotinus, the greatest Platonic philosopher of the age,
who, followed by a numerous train of disciples, opposed them,
and others of the same kind, with as much vigor and success as
the most enlightened [Catholic] Christians could have done."
7. It seems that the opinions of these heretics, differed widely
from the doctrines of Plato, and on this account, " The disciples
of Jesus, and the followers of Plotinus, joined together their
efforts against them, and by their united force soon destroyed their
credit and authority, and rendered them contemptible in the esti-
mation of the multitude."
8. But this circumstance, if there was no other, is altogether
sufficient to show that it was not the disciples of Jesus, but of
Saccas, who joined forces with Plotinus and his numerous train,
and if the name of Jesus had any just application in the case, it
must have belonged to those of the contrary side, who were hated
and persecuted by both Pagans and Catholics.
9. However, unhappily for the united forces of the Catholic
and Platonic doctors, when they seemed just "upon the point of
obtaining a complete and decisive victory, a new enemy, (says
Mosheim,) more vehement and odious than the rest, started up
suddenly, and engaged in the contest."
10. This was Mani, by birth a Persian. His character fol- ibid. p. 288.
lows in the old orthodox form. " Many were deceived by the
eloquence of this enthusiast, by the gravity of his countenance,
and the innocence and simplicity of his manners : so that, in a
short time, he formed a sect not utterly inconsiderable in point
of number."
11. To whom then, could gravity, innocence, and simplicity of
manners be an odious and vehement enemy ? Surely not to
Christ, but to antichrist, and his idolatrous superstitions ; and
therefore, these unreproachable qualities of this reputed heretic,
could not defend him against the united hatred of the pretended
Christians, Philosophers, Jews and Pagans.
12. According to the Greek writers, he was, for some time,
protected in a strong castle, which the Persian monarch had
erected between Bagdat and Suza, to serve him as a refuge
against those who persecuted him on account of his doctrine ; yet
he was afterwards delivered up, and fell a victim to the rage of
his persecutors.
13. His adversaries complain that, " The rule of life and man- lbid.p.294.
ners which he prescribed to his disciples, was most extravagantly
rigorous and austere." If the rule which he prescribed to per-
fect Christians, was, as they say, an entire abstinence from icine
and wedlock, from all intoxicating drink, and all amorous gra-
12
170 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP B. IV.
CHAP.X. tijications, it need not be thought strange, that such a debauched
and superstitious age should revile him, not only as a heretic,
but as the most dangerous fanatic or madman.
14. And in fact, the principal respect that is paid to this class
of heretics, by those false judges of true virtue, is, that the
weaker sort of this sect, or those who were denominated hearers,
were allowed to possess houses, lands, and wealth, and to enter
into the conjugal bonds : " But (say they) this liberty was given
them with many limitations, and under the strictest conditions
of moderation and temperance."
15. Doubtless there was nothing but liberty in the case, and
all were allowed to act according to their own choice ; and
though the adversaries of Mani would seem to insinuate that he
used some kind of compulsion ; yet it is very evident that it was
not he, but his persecutors, that lorded it over the conscience :
and that the only means which constrained this people to a life
of mortification and abstinence, was the exemplary innocence of
their leaders.
Ecci. Re- 16. " The celebrated Hierax, from whom came the Hieracites,
searches, p. was a native of Egypt, and a Christian (says Robinson,) of the
true primitive cast. He was a man of eminent abilities, both
natural and acquired — and what is more to his honor, his bitter-
est enemies applaud his distinguished piety and virtue."
17. " This poisonous reptile, as Saint Epiphanius is pleased
to call him, had the misfortune to hold two or three errors, for
which he was anathematized with all his followers, and, if the
last judgment be directed on the principles of Greek councils,
they will all suffer the vengeance of eternal fire."
18. "In brief he was a Manichean. Moshcim says, he dif-
fered considerably from Mani; but Beausobre more accurately
observes that Mani and Hierax, from whom came the Spanish
heretics, differed only as two drops of water differ from each
other. It was a difference of quantity, not of nature."
Ibid. p. 186. 19- "In tne f°urth century the Hieracites were very numer-
ous in Egypt. One of them named Mark, of the city of Mem-
phis, went into Spain, where he was entertained by a lady named
Agape, and Helpidius, a rhetorician : but the most famous of
all his converts was Friscillian."
20. "In the religious assemblies of all the Manicheans, adora-
tion of God was the whole of the worship. This was performed
in the natural way of prayer, and singing hymns — the scriptures
were read, and some discoursed on the nature and obligations of
virtue to inform the rest."
21. " Priscillian did so, and many of noble families, and
common people, and crowds, especially of women, attenled and
imbibed the doctrine. In a short time it spread all over Spain :
and some bishops embraced it, who, laying aside the vices of the
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 171
world, and the superstitions of the [Catholic] clergy, applied chap.x.
themselves wholly to the practice of piety, and a course of
virtue."
22. Thus far has Robinson stated the occasion of the first Ca-
tholic persecution, which began about the year 380, at the in-
stigation of Idacius and Ithacius, two cruel and persecuting
ecclesiastics.
23. Their first step was, to call a council, for the purpose of
suppressing the heresy of Priscillian. With twelve bishops they
passed a decree, that no man should assume the rank of a teacher
without leave first had and obtained from them. Priscillian in
the mean time continued to teach. Enraged at this contempt of
their assumed authority, their next recourse was to the civil ma-
gistrate for aid.
24. And after a process of several years, the bloody Ithackts Bed. His-
obtained an order from the Catholic emperor Maximus, for the lor7;4voli'
execution of Priscillian and his associates. In consequence of
which, in the year 384, Priscillian and many more were put to
death. Some, says Robinson, were put on the rack, others had
all their property confiscated, and others were banished.
25. And who were Ithacius and Maximus, that they should
agree, for the honor of religion, to destroy the inoffensive Pris-
cillian, and those who adopted his harmless manner of life?
Maximus came to the throne by means of procuring the murder
of the emperor Gratian; and even the party to which Ithacius
belonged gave him the following character :
26. " He was a man abandoned to the most corrupt indolence, ibM.p 414.
and without the least tincture of true piety. He was audacious, Note tm J
talkative, impudent, luxurious, and a slave to his belly. He ac-
cused as heretics, and as protectors of Priscillian, all those
whose lives were consecrated to the pursuit of piety and know-
ledge, or distinguished by acts of mortification and abstinence."
27. However, in all this he only proved himself to be. a true
son of the Catholic Church ; and his introducing persecution into
his mother's house, was nothing more than improving the liberty
which she had granted her sons, by the Theodosian creed, formed
about the same period in one of her general councils at Constan-
tinople, in the year 381.
28. " An hundred and fifty bishops, (says Mosheim,) who were Ji>id.p.4i4,
present at this council, gave the finishing touch to what the 415'
council of Nice had left imperfect, and fixed, in a full and deter-
minate manner, the doctrine of 0° three persons in one God,
which is as yet received among the generality of Christians:"
[i.e. professed Christians and Catholics.]
29. " This venomous council did not stop here ; — They branded
with infamy, all the errors, and set a mark of execration upon
all the heresies, that were hitherto known."
172 PROGRESS AND DOCTRINES OP B. IV.
chap, xi. go. Thus, superstition became the established religion, and
persecution the principal means of supporting it, which furnished
the most distinguishing and evident marks of a corrupt hierarchy,
founded upon the unnatural and pernicious coalition of the civil
and ecclesiastical powers, under the name of Christianity and a
Christian government.
CHAPTER XI.
PROGRESS AND DOCTRINES OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, IN THE
FOURTH CENTURY.
The continuation of a thing in its own place, nature, and proper-
ties, is very different from a succession of things rising up and
filling the place of another ; yet it is really according to the lat-
ter idea that the religion of Christ has been supposed to continue
in the world to the present day.
2. But to every reasonable mind the distinction must be self-
evident : and if so, then it may, doubtless, with propriety be
said, that certain men have, in every age through the Christian
era, appeared either as Christ, or in his place, and that either
the real Church of Christ, or one in its place, has continued to
exist upon earth.
3. And if any man and any church did actually rise up in the
room of Christ and his church, then it must be evident that
neither Christ nor his church remained upon earth : for admit-
ting that the Church of Christ existed upon earth, it must have
been in its own place : of course another could not stand in its
place, at one and the same time.
4. When Solomon, king of Israel, died, the kingdom was divi-
ded between Rehoboam, and Jeroboam, but neither of them
reigned fully in his stead. Nor was there any kingdom or em-
pire established upon earth in the room of Solomon's, until the
last remains of that was rooted out, and the seat of government
established at Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
5. Then it might be said that there was a kingdom established
in the room of Solomon's, and a king reigned in his stead, but
this was not a continuance either of Solomon or his kingdom, but
something in their place, that in some respects resembled them,
but was essentially different and distinct.
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 173
6. This may serve as a comparison between Jesus Christ, and chap.xi,
Constantine the Great. For, as the wild and frantic Nebuchad-
nezzar was born to the wise men of Babylon, and grew np and
established a kingdom or empire, according to their council, in
the place of Solomon's; so in the same sense was Constantine
born to the Catholic Church, and grew up and assumed to act in
the place of Jesus Christ.
7. And although the empire or church which Co?istantine
founded, stood professedly in the place of the Church of Christ,
as the Babylonian empire stood in the place of the kingdom of
Solomon; yet it will appear beyond dispute, upon the slightest
comparison, that the church which was founded and estab-
lished by Constantine the Great, was not a continuation of the
Church of Christ, but the very reverse.
8. And if it be granted that the heads and fathers of the
Catholic Church stood in place of Christ Jesus and his apostles,
and did not in reality fill the very character of those whom they
pretended to represent, then the conclusion must be evident, that
neither Christ nor his Apostles, in reality, were manifest on earth,
but certain pretenders in their place, therefore it was '■'■the Mark, xiii.
abomination of desolation, standing where it ought not.'''' 14-
9. Of course, that Church of which they were the heads and
fathers, must have been as distinct from the primitive Church of
Christ, as they themselves were distinct, in point of character,
from those whom they are said to represent. If any evidence is
wanting to confirm these plain principles, it will appear from the
following account of the establishment of the Catholic Church,
under Constantine and his successors.
10. " Constantine the Great, in order to prevent civil commo- Eccl. His-
tions, and to fix his authority upon solid and stable foundations, p"1^01'1'
made several changes, not only in the laws of the empire, but
also in the form of the Roman government. And as there were
many important reasons, which induced him to suit the adminis-
tration of the Church to these changes in the civil constitution,
this necessarily introduced, among the bishops, new degrees of
eminence and rank." So says Dr. Mosheim.
11. And further: " Though Constantine permitted the Church
to remain a body politic, distinct from that of the state, as it had
formerly been, yet he assumed to himself the supreme power over
.this sacred body, and the right of modeling and governing it in
such a manner, as should be most conducive to the public good.
This right he enjoyed without any opposition, as none of the ibid. p. 338.
bishops presumed to call his authority in question."
12. Here we see that the first step was to incorporate the
Church and the world into one body, to be governed by one
head: so that notwithstanding the Church, for certain purposes,
was kept a distinct body politic, yet it was as closely united to the
174 PROGRESS AND DOCTRINES OF B. IV.
chap.'xi. cjvji government, and as much one with the empire, as the harlot
1 Cor. vi.. is one flesh with him that is joined to her; and from this union
1G' proceeded that high degree of eminence and rank to which the
bishops arose.
13. How strong a temptation this must have been for the
wickedest men to seek the highest rank in so honorable a
Church ! Here we may justly apply that saying of the Prophet
Dan. xi.32. Daniel: Such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he cor-
F ,. rapt by flatteries. By the prophet Ezekiel such a union is com-
30-3s! pared to the work of an imperious whorish woman. Or, as a
wife that committeth adultery, taketh strangers instead of her
husband: But with this difference: They give gifts unto all
whores ; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest
them, that they may come unto thee on every side, for thy whore-
dom. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and
shed blood, are judged.
14. In thus uniting and incorporating the Church with the
civil government, the emperor met with no opposition; it was
on all sides a spontaneous confederacy, entered into with the
universal consent of the bishops, as representatives of the Church,
and the Roman senate, as the great fathers of the people ; all
agree in joint compact, that a man-slayer, a proud ambitious
emperor, who had neither seen Christ nor known him, should be
the common head of influence to the whole body.
15. In consequence of this unnatural union, the government of
the Church, in all her parts, assumed the form and likeness of
the civil government. Four bishops, viz: of Rome, Antioch,
Alexandria, and Constantinople enjoyed a certain degree of pre-
eminence over the rest of the episcopal order. "These four
prelates, (says Mosheim,) answered to the four prcetorian pre-
fects created by Constantine ; and it is possible that, in this very
Ecci. His- century, [iv.] they were distinguished by the Jewish title of
Tuo?iA' patriarchs."
16. "After these, followed the exarchs, who had the inspec-
tion over several provinces, and answered to the appointment of
certain civil officers who bore the same title. In a lower class,
were the Metropolitans, who had only the government of one
province, under whom were the archbishops, whose inspection
was confined to certain districts." In the next grade below,
were the bishops, and so down to the chorepiscopi, or superinten-
dents of the country churches. These dignified orders were
doubtless created to fill the place of evangelists, apostles, elders,
fyc. ; but that they were men of like spirit their historians dare
not say.
17. Thus we see the form of the Church, fitly joined together
and compacted with a wicked world, and holding for its head a
wicked man, whose crimes deterred him from using even the
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 175
most distant shadow of purity. But we shall proceed to observe chap.xi.
something concerning the manner of the government of this pre-
tended church.
18. Mosheim says, "The administration of the Church was Eccl His.
divided, by Const antine himself, into an external and an internal too- vol i.
inspection. The latter, which was committed to bishops and 1>340'341,
councils, related to religious coiitrovcrsies ; the forms of divine
worship; the offices of the priests ; the vices of the ecclesiastical
orders., fyc. The external administration of the Church, the
emperor assumed to himself."
19. "This comprehended all those things that relate to the
outward, state and discipline of the church ; it likewise extended
to all contests and debates that should arise between the ministers
of the Church, superior as well as inferior, concerning their pos-
sessions, their reputation, their rights and privileges, their
offences against the laws, and things of a like nature.
20. "In consequence of this artful division, Constanti?ie and
his successors called councils, presided in them, appointed judges
of religious controversies, terminated the differences which arose
between the bishops and the people, fixed the limits of the
ecclesiastical provinces, took cognizance of the civil causes that
subsisted between the ministers of the Church, and punished the
crimes committed against the laws, by the ordinary judges
appointed for that purpose."
21. In all this, the emperor still appears the supreme head,
and no other impulse of government is so much as hinted at, in
all the account, but the sovereign will ami authority of this un-
baptized usurper. Let such a government be said to arise in the
room of the Apostolic power ; but let no one imagine that it was
one and the same, or had any relation to that divine order in
which nothing was passed but what seemed, good to the Holy
Spirit, and those who had been therewith baptized.
22. Although the bishops were intrusted with the principal
management of their Church affairs, and were appointed by the
emperor, as judges in points of religious controversy; yet, in
every punctilio, they were subject to his control: so that at best,
these pretended fathers could only be tools to form and modify
such a religious doctrine and worship as would best suit the pur-
poses of civil government, and please the taste of a debauched
and corrupt empire.
23. Could this be that sin-condemning Gospel which Jesus
sent by his Apostles to all the world as a testimony against
them ? Who cannot see the infinite difference ? Behold a set of
lordly ecclesiastics, bred in the schools of religious conten-
tion, living in idleness, luxury and lust, employed, supported,
and enriched by civil government, for the purpose of render-
ing the religion of Constanfine universally acceptable to all
176 PROGRESS AND DOCTRINES OF B. IV.
chap.; xi. his subjects ! Is not such a religion a libel upon the name of
Christianity ?
24. Before ever Const antine assumed the reins of Church
government, the contending fathers had disputes and contro-
versies prepared, which all his imperial wisdom and power could
never settle. Besides reputed heretics, a numerous party had
Ecci. His- separated from the Catholic body, called Donatists. They dis-
t039SV01 '' Pll*ed w^h. the main body about the sanctity of bishops, and the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. They avoided communion with all
other churches : of course their principles were pronounced
seditious. Novatus and his followers also much troubled their
Catholic peace.
Ibid. p 399 25. And this was not all: deplorable divisions were kindled
(says Mosheim,) throughout the Christian ivorld, on the subject
of OCT' Three persons in the Godhead. The dispute on this sub-
ject took its rise at Alexandria, that seat of vain philosophy, and
was differently modified and prolonged by Alexander and Arms.
The doctors themselves could not decide the point. The
emperor admonishes them by letter to end their dispute, but
without effect. And seeing the flames of controversy daily
spreading through the empire, he at length assembled a general
ibid. p. 402. council, in the year 325, at Nice, in Bithynia.
26. A general council is supposed to consist of commissioners
from all the churches in the Christian world, which represents the
ibid. p. 33S. church universal. These were established by the authority of
the emperor ; though it is probable his judgment was directed by
that of the bishops. The general council is assembled at Nice,
Here the whole Christian world, so called, is represented, with
the emperor at their head, to dispute concerning the persons in
the Godhead; to decide the manner of Christ's union with the
Father; to compose schisms, heal divisions, suppress heresies,
and establish the orthodox faith.
27. This they call Church government. And what did this
universal council effect ? Doubtless that glorious building, called
the Catholic Church, had here arisen to the greatest height
which it attained during the reign of Constantine : for a house
divided against itself cannot stand.
28. By this council the Arian party were condemned, the
consubstantial doctrine established — Arius banished — a creed
formed, and his followers compelled to give their assent to it.
Five years after, the emperor changes sides, recalls Arius from
banishment, espouses his doctrine, and uses all his influence to
promote it.
29. By a council held at Tyre, in the year 335, he deposed
and condemned Athanasius his great antagonist, aad afterwards
had him banished into Gaul: soon after which, this great head
of the church finished his race, having received a baptism of
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 177
water from Eusebius of Nicomedia, the principal supporter of CI^P-
the Arian cause. '
30. The order of the Catholic Church (if order it might he
called) had long been preparing, but by the council of Nice it
was established. Here the first Catholic Confession of Faith
was confirmed by the united authority of bishops and civil rulers,
the church and the world in one. Here it was first decreed, by
the same authority, that the Son was consubstantial with the
Father. But their doctrine could not be completed without a
third person; and, as the rulers of the church and civil officers
were consubstantial with the emperor, so the odd number of
three was soon after established in the Deity, and the second
and third proved by a majority of votes to be consubstantial with
the first.
31. Two could never agree in the kingdom of antichrist, there-
fore three became necessary to form a council, in order to a cast-
ing vote. Here the patriarch, thepajja, that ispope or father, must
have all power in his hands, and sway the sceptre uncontrolled ;
and whether his vote is in favor of truth or error, virtue or vice,
his counsel must stand, and he will do all his pleasure.
32. By this fatal error, which was founded on their own carnal
reasoning, and the motley compound of civil and ecclesiastical
power, the council of Nice, instead of uniting in harmony the
contending parties, laid a lasting foundation for errors of every
kind. In consequence of which, council was formed against
council, and shameful and scandalous debates promoted, until
they increased to severe scourging, banishment, and even blood-
shed ; while the jarring opinions and contradictory decrees of
this only Catholic Church, seemed to claim a divine authority to
drive the world into the utmost confusion.
ITS DOCTRINE AND ARRANGEMENT OP B. IV.
CHAPTER XII.
THE DOCTRINES AND ORDER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,
ESTABLISHED IN THE FIFTH CENTURY.
chap. The emperor, at the time of the first universal council, was ac-
• knowledged as the head of the Church ; but as he afterwards
changed sides, and espoused the doctrine against which the ortho-
dox universe had passed its decrees at Nice, it gave occasion to
call in question his right to the headship, and excited the Catho-
lic bishops to contend for the pre-eminence ; that the decision in
all matters, both temporal and spiritual, might be infallibly sanc-
tioned, as coming from the representatives of the holy Apostles,
and of Jesus, whose authority was only spiritual and divine.
2. This point, the cunning priesthood finally gained, whereby
they duped the emperor out of his throne, supplanted the whole
civil authority, and engrossed the administration into their own
hands. This, however, was not effected in an instant, but re-
quired more than a hundred years labor of the ingenious doctors,
who were continually commenting and improving upon the ca-
nons, decrees, and established doctrines of the Nicene council.
This leads us to make a few remarks on the character and doc-
trines of some of the most eminent fathers, who succeeded this
first universal council.
Grounds of 3. St. Athanasius says, "Whosoever will be saved, before
cath. Dott. a\\ things it is necessarv that he hold the Catholic faith. Which
p. 2, o <J
faith, except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without
doubt he shall perish everlastingly." This may serve as an in-
troduction : it then remains to find out in whom such a Catholic
faith is deposited ; whether in the Nicene or Aria?i party, in the
Donatists, the Nestorians, the Pelagians, or in the Manichean
and Marcionite heretics.
4. The Catholics, however, have a right to claim what they
call the Catholic faith, that is, such a faith as they are able to
impose upon mankind by the allurements of eloquence, or the
power of the secular arm. Let us enquire then what this faith
was in its first stages of authority, and who they were that formed
it, and gave it the awful sanction.
Ecci. His- 5. Ephraim the Syrian, acquired an immortal name by the
tory. vol. i. multitude of his writings, in which he combated the sectaries.
D ^450 131
354^ ' ' Hilary, bishop of Poictiers, is immortalized by his twelve books
concerning the trinity, which he wrote against the Arians.
6. Ri/finus, presbyter of Aquileia, was famous for his com-
mentaries on several passages of the holy Scriptures, and his bit-
13. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 179
ter contest 'with St. Jerome. "He -would (says Mosheim) have CvAp'
obtained a very honorable place among the Latin writers of this — - — ■ —
century, had it not been his misfortune to have the powerful and
foul-mouthed Jerome for his adversary."
7. But the glory of these, and almost all the other writers of
this age, was eclipsed by St. Augustin. Mosheim says, " The
fame of Augustin, bishop of Hippo, in Africa, filled the whole
Christian world." He gained much honor by his contest with
Pelagius, suppressing the Pelagian heresy almost in its very .
beginning, and establishing the Catholic doctrines of HZ/" the Ecci. His-
i imputation of original sin — Election and reprobaHon, and of por,£™y !i"
salvation by mere grace, without any foresight of faith, or regard
to good works, which have darkened the earth even to the pre-
sent day.
8. The African bishops, with Augustin at their head, main-
tained the Catholic faith, even against the Bishop of Rome, who
esteemed Pelagius sound in the faith, and by their exhortations,
letters and writings, gained over the Roman pontiff to their side.
Pelagius and his doctrines are condemned with the utmost seve-
rity at Rome. Likewise in the famous council at Ephesus, A.
D. 431. "In short, (says Mosheim,) the Gauls, Britons, and ibid. p. so.
Africans by their councils, and the emperors by their edicts and
penal laws, demolished this sect in its infancy."
9. But this was not all : Robins on says, " While Genseric was Ecci. Rc-
defending the [Arian] faith at the head of eighty thousand men, ^ ess>P"
Augustin who had now no command over the sword, was inflam-
ing his hearers with violent passions, by urging them to hate one
another for their speculations."
10. In a part of one of his sermons the following is worthy of
notice. The discourse is about the strait gate; and this accord-
ing to the Catholic faith, cannot be good works, or obedience to
the law of Christ; but the ivounded side of Jesus. "By this
strait gate of the side of Christ, (says St. Aiigustin,) the con-
verted thief entered, the penitent Jew, every converted Pagan,
but the wicked heretic Arian turns his back on him and goes
out. He is one of those of whom St. John says, they went out
from us — 0 you Arian heretic."
11. "Several Catholic historians, (says Robinson) observe, ibid. p. 10a.
for the glory of God, for the honor of his providence, and for the
benefit of the Church, that the very day on which Pelagius was
born in Britain to shed darkness over the empire, Saint Monico
lay in with St. Augustin in Africa, to dispel the darkness, and
throw light and sunshine and midday splendor over the minds of
all mankind."
12. " Just so, say they, when heretics appeared in the western
world, did Grod by his spirit excite pope Innocent to erect the
most holy office of the hiquisition. From [Augi(sti?i] this bitter
[2]
ISO DOCTRINE AND ARRANGEMENT OF B. IV.
CxrrP' and bloody fanatic of Africa, proceeded two hundred and thirty-
■ — two pamphlets. He understood the ten commandments in a
spiritual sense, and, Thou shalt not kill, signified, thou shalt not
searches, p. kill an orthodox believer. The command did not protect the life
10;i- ofaAere^c."
13. " This Saint Augxistin had as fine a scent for this sort of
game as ever saint had. He reckoned up no less than eighty-
eight sorts of these poor beings, whom he and other such holy
men doomed to utter destruction." He had a little parish in his
own diocese infested with heresy, which is briefly described in
his own words, as follows.
ibid. Note 14. " There is a certain rustic heresy in our district, of Hippo,
in one small village, we may call them Abelites. They are not
mixed with wives, yet, according to the decree of the sect, it is
not allowed them to live separate from wives. Therefore males
and females dwelling together, under a profession of continence,
they adopted to themselves a boy and a girl, as their future heirs
in the covenant of the same conjunction : each and every one
going before by death, others are sought out to fill their place.
15. "Moreover, provided that either parent being dead, one
remaining, the children served until their departure also, after
whose death, they (the successors) adopted boy and girl in like
manner : nor was there ever any lack from whence they might
adopt, their neighbors generating on all sides, and freely giving
up their needy children upon the hope of heirship to the pro-
perty of strangers."
16. "This (says Robinson,) afflicted the chaste bishop so
greatly, that he corrected them till they became Catholics."
Most likely this great saint cleared his diocese of such kind of
heretics ; however, he could neither expel them from the earth,
nor reduce them to a conformity to his hypocritical life and man-
ners. But as long as orthodoxy was the established virtue of
the Catholics, heresy, which must of course be the established
vice, remained as the principal object of their hatred and per-
secution.
17. The following is the character of three great Catholic
saints, who in their time were leading oracles of the orthodox
world, as given by ecclesiastical writers, viz: "St. Bernard,"
whose word," says the historian, "was in his time, a law to all
Christendom;" also "St. Athanasius, and St. Augustine;"
who by their writings did much to establish the fundamental
principles of the Catholic church, and kindle the flame of perse-
cuting bitterness.
18. "Dr. Haweis, (says Jones) loses all patience with his
brother Milner, for attempting to introduce the great Bernard
into the calendar of saints." "I am astonished " says he, "at
his attempt to enroll Bernard into his catalogue of evangelical
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 181
religion. Saint added to such a name would be impious. c?f,p'
However orthodox some of his sentiments may he, can false —
miracles, lying prophecies, bloody persecutions of the faithful,
and servitude to the papacy and her dominion, constitute a saint
of the first water ? A protestant divine disgraces his pages by
these commendations."
19. Jones replies : "In all this I fully agree with Dr. Haweis; Jones' ch.
but then it furnishes me with a powerful plea against his own Q77l°7ni'
consistency, who has no scruple to enrol in his catalogue the n°te [p]
names of Athanasius, and Augustine, men equally renowned
for their lust of power, their persecuting principles, their false
miracles, their lying prophecies, and abject servitude to the
prevailing corruption of their respective times."
20. It seems that the most spiritually blind cannot help see-
ing the awful depravity of the Church and ecclesiastical councils,
which domineered over the professed Christian world in the dark
ages that succeeded the decline of the primitive Church ; when
ecclesiastical writers, hunting among the noblest and the best,
to find some marks of genuine Christianity, all declare, and
prove, that the most " renowned saints " of those dark ages, such
as St. Athanasius, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, and other great
"■saints,''' were neither more nor less than bloody persecutors of
those who were more virtuous, and " abject slaves to, and leading
characters of the prevailing corruptions of their respective times."
21. The very constitution of the Catholic Church, from the
period of the Nicene council, inspired the priesthood with a
growing ambition to clear the empire of every object that would
expose their hypocrisy, or weaken their lordly influence over a
benighted world. Heretics stood principally in their way ; there-
fore the greatest champion in detecting and rooting out heretics,
however contrary to the precepts of the Gospel the means he
used, stood highest on the list of Catholic heroes, or canonized
saints.
22. It is easy to see that there could be no room, either for
truth or virtue, where the continual strife was, who should be
the greatest. And the source of revenue, which flowed from the
head of influence to these ministers of darkness, prompted them
to still higher degrees of ambition, by which the rustics, as they
are called, or common people, were trampled under foot, or at
best considered as necessary tools for promoting their opulence
and grandeur, and supporting them in luxury and idleness.
23. To show that this was the true genius of this imperious
hierarchy, the following particulars may suffice. " Many of the Ecci. His-
privileges, (says Mosheim,) which had formerly belonged to the £339™'' u
presbyters and people, were [under Constantine] usurped by the
bishops. Their first step was an entire exclusion of the people
from all part in the administration of ecclesiastical affairs. "
182 DOCTRINE AND ARRANGEMENT OE B. IV.
C\f[P' ~^* "^U ^e eP'lsc0Pal 01'der> the bishop of Rome was the
first in rank, and was distinguished by a sort of pre-eminence
Ibid. p. 343.
Ecci. iiu- 0Ver all other prelates. Prejudices, arising from a great variety
lorv« vol. i. ,. , ., t . ". , i- , ., . c . ° . . •>
p. 34a. or causes, contributed to establish this superiority ; but it was
chiefly owing to certain circumstances of grandeur and opulence,
by which mortals, for the most part, form their ideas of pre-emi-
nence and dignity."
25. "The bishop of Borne surpassed all his brethren in the
magnificence and splendor of the church over which he presided ;
in the riches of his revenues and possessions ; in the number and
variety of his ministers ; in his credit with the people ; and in
his sumptuous and splendid manner of living. These dazzling
marks of human power had such a mighty influence upon the
minds of the multitude, that the see of Rome became a most
seducing object of sacerdotal ambition."
26. "Hence it happened, that when a new pontiff was to be
elected by the suffrages of the people, the city of Rome was gen-
erally agitated with dissensions, tumults, and cabals, whose con-
sequences were often deplorable and fatal. The intrigues and
disturbances that prevailed in that city in the year 866, when,
upon the death of Liberius, another pontiff was to be chosen in
his place, are a sufficient proof of what we have now advanced."
27. " Upon this occasion, one faction elected Damasus to that
high dignity, while the opposite party chose Ursicinus, a deacon
of the vacant church, to succeed Liberius. This double election
gave rise to a dangerous schism, and to a sort of civil war within
the city of Rome, which was carried on with the utmost barbarity
and fury, and produced the most cruel massacres and desolations.
This inhuman contest ended in the victory of Da/nasus."
28. Such was the degree of lawless power, which those de-
generate plants of the nine of Sodom had already attained, and
which evidently proceeded from the antichristian authority which
had been reposed in the emperors, that head of the false church,
as will appear from what follows.
Ibid. p. 346. 29. "The additions made by the emperors and others to the
wealth, honors and advantages of the clergy, were, followed with
a proportionable augmentation of vices and luxury, particularly
among those of the sacred order, [or rather according to their
fruits, that satanic order,] who lived in great and opulent cities ;
and that many such additions were made to that order after the
time of Cotistantine, is a matter that admits of no dispute."
So says Mosheim.
30. Here then was the source of all their ambition : A sordid
thirst for temporal glory! And hence the historian observes, —
ibid. p. 347. "The bishops, on the one hand, contended with each other, in
the most scandalous manner, concerning the extent of their re-
spective jurisdictions; while on the other, they trampled upon
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 183
the rights of the people, violated the privileges of the inferior chap.
ministers, and imitated, in their conduct and in their manner of 1_
living, the arrogance, voluptuousness, and luxury of magistrates
and princes."
31. "This pernicious example was soon followed by the seve- ibid. p. 339.
ral ecclesiastical orders. The bishops by degrees, divested the
'presbyters of their ancient privileges, and their primitive autho-
rity, that they might have no importunate protestors to control
their ambition, or oppose their proceedings ; and principally, that
they might either engross to themselves, or distribute, as they
thought proper, the possessions and revenues of the church."
32. " Hence it came to pass, that, at the conclusion of this
[iv.] century, there remained no more than a mere shadow of
the ancient government of the church." Admitting that there
did remain a mere shadow, there must be an essential difference
between that and the substance.
33. But it must appear evident that there did not remain the
most distant resemblance of the primitive Church, if we compare
the arrogance, voluptuousness and luxury of the clergy, and the
barbarity, fury, inhuman contests and cabals of their subjects
with what Jesus taught his true disciples.
34. But Jesus called them, and saith unto them, Ye know Mark, x.
that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them ; and their great ones exercise authority
upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever
will be great among you, shall be your [Gr. <5i<xxovo?] deacon:* * or ser-
and whosoever ivill be the chief est shall be servant of all.
35. How diametrically opposite appears the whole course of
the Catholic order ! The bishops lording it over the presbyters,
— the presbyters over inferior officers — and the lower class of
rulers setting themselves up as great ones over the common peo-
ple ; and priests and people tyranizing with relentless cruelty
over reputed heretics, whose lives of virtue exposed them alone,
as a common prey, to the avaricious and beastly power of anti-
christ.
36. This is the Church which has been represented as the
blessed mother of saints, and of great saints, and even of Con-
stantine the Great, under whose reign that great building,
which had been erecting ever since the fall, arose to so great a
height ! This is that great hierarchy, and these the effects of
that Catholic Gospel, for which even president Edwards could History of
affirm, that no other cause could be devised but the power of ^demP- P-
God. Doubtless that proverb is true. There is a way that ProV. xiv.
seemeth right unto a man ; but the end thereof are the ways of 12,
d, ath.
37. Under the influence of a false education, and a deep rooted
prejudice in favor of the chain of orthodoxy, the most sensible
184
DOCTRINE AND ARRANGEMENT OF
B. IV.
CHAP.
XII.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol ii.
p. 23.
modern writers have labored to prove that to be the work of
God, which was evidently the work of wicked and aspiring men.
38. And lest the soundness of modern Christianity should be
called in question, the Protestant priesthood have universally
labored to establish the credit and authority of the Catholic
Church, in every age. But they have manifested the greatest
degree of partiality, in charging the whole guilt of apostasy upon
the bishop of Ro?nc, while they themselves claim a relation to
that very sink of corruption, out of which he arose to the papal
dignity.
39. Although these modern doctors would seem to content
themselves with a less degree of power than the bishop of Rome
attained, and support their union only with such of the fathers as
preceded him; yet, in claiming and supporting this relation, they
show that if they had the same opportunity, they would not
stop short of universal supremacy, any more than their fathers
did.
40. Hence that very way, which was invented by the Alexan-
drian priesthood, and established by Const antine, seems even to
this day, to be right ; and kindred bishops and doctors love to
have it so, and by false arguments and bold assertions, try to
prove it to be so.
41. Each improving upon his predecessor, furnishes new argu-
guments for those that follow. So this ancient way of mixing
religion and politics, still seems to be right, although after so
long a proof, even according to their own accounts, it has evi-
dently branched out into many ways of confusion, persecution
and death.
42. Under all their pomp and vain glory, their compound of
civil and ecclesiastical tyranny, their confused and contradictory
jargon, which they called orthodoxy, it is plain that a subtle
priesthood were aspiring to the entire headship over both church
and state.
43. In the fifth century, Mosheim says, " The vices of the
clergy were carried to the most enormous lengths. The writers
of this century are unanimous in their accounts of the luxury,
arrogance, avarice, and voluptuousness of sacerdotal orders."
And further observes that, "These opprobrious stains, in the
characters of the clergy, would never have been endured, had
not the greatest part of mankind been sunk into superstition and
ignorance
44. Candid reader, where now was the true Church of
Christ, in the fifth century? What was there, then, to prevent
these basest of all deceivers from setting up a false god, a false
christ, false teachers, false saints, and the like ?
45. The superstitious and ignorant multitude were at their
control ; the civil authority was on their side ; the heretics were
B. IV. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 185
rooted out from anions; them, and were either banished, or chap.
voluntarily retreated to mountains or deserts, where they might _
enjoy the free exercise of piety and uninterrupted peace, remote
from this Babylonish mixture of confusion.
46. Nothing, in fact, remained to prevent this "synagogue of
Satan" from establishing any religion or government which they
could agree upon among themselves. The only difficulty they
had to surmount, was, to determine which of them should be the
greatest.
47. Mosheim says, that even "the office of a presbyter was Ecei.His-
looked upon of such a high and eminent nature, that Martin, lor5;(;vo1 "•
bishop of Tours, was so audacious as to maintain, at a public
entertainment, that the emperor was inferior, in dignity, to one
of that order." How then must the bishops have appeared?
48. Nor were the bishops themselves, at this time the highest
order of ecclesiastics. Five were distinguished from the rest,
under the name of patriarchs, namely, the bishops of Rome,
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem; whose
office it was to consecrate inferior bishops, assemble yearly coun-
cils in their respective districts, and regulate the affairs of the
church universal.
49. But antichrist must needs have a supreme head; and as
this had hitherto been vested in the emperors, and the ecclesias-
tics were now aspiring after the supremacy, it became necessary
that one of that order should have power to rule the rest. Hence Ibid. p. 26.
ambitious quarrels, and bitter animosities arose among the
patriarchs themselves, which produced the most bloody wars,
and the most detestable and horrid crimes.
50. It would be endless to trace the artful measures which
these ungodly tyrants pursued, from time to time, to supplant
one another, in order to attain the last and highest degree of
pre-eminence. However, "None of the contending bishops, ibid. p. 27.
(says Mosheim,) found the occurrences of the times so favorable
to his ambition as the Roman pontiff."
51. And, "Among all the prelates who ruled the church of
Rome during this century, there was none who asserted, with
such vigor and success, the authority and pretensions of the
Roman pontiff, as Leo,* commonly surnamed the Great;" * i.e. the
whose supreme authority was particularly owned by the general Ll0n"
council assembled at Chalcedon, A. D. 451.
52. About this time a new controversy arose, occasioned by
certain doctrines advanced by Eutyches, a monk at Constanti-
nople. Eutyches maintained, that in Christ, there was but one
nature, viz: that of the incarnate word; for which he was
accused of heresy, in a council assembled at Constantinople, A. n,id. p. 73.
D. 448, by Flavianus, the patriarch of that city.
53. By a decree of this council, Eutyches was ordered to re-
13
1S6 DOCTRINES AND ARRANGEMENT OF, &C. B. IV.
chap, nounco the above mentioned opinion. He obstinately refused ;
for which he was excommunicated and deposed. He appealed
Eccl. His-
to a general council, which was, accordingly, by order of the
emperor Theodosius, assembled at Ephesus, A. D. 449, in
which Bioscorus, the patriarch of Alexandria, presided, who
was of the same opinion with Eutyches.
54. By the order of this council, Eutyches was acquitted of
torft Yoi.il. the charge of error; and the patriarch Flavianus, publicly
p" 74" scourged in the most barbarous manner, and banished to Epipds,
a city of Lydia, where he soon after died of his wounds. But,
previous to his death, he appealed to Leo the Great, who took
up the cause, and demanded of Theodosius, another general
council, which this emperor could not be prevailed npon to
grant.
55. Upon his death, however, his successor Marcianus,
consented to Leo's demand, and called, in the year 451, the
council of Chalcedon. In this council, the legate, or representa-
tive of Leo presided ; the decrees of the council of Ephesus
were annulled; an epistle, which Leo had written to Flavianus
on the subject of debate, was received as a rule of faith;
Eutyches was condemned; and the following doctrine, "which
(says Moshei?n,) is at this time almost generally received, was
inculcated upon Christians [i.e. Catholics] as an object of faith,
ibid. p. 75. viz: OCT" ' That in Christ two distinct natures were united in
one person, and that without any change, mixture or confusion.'
56. "A great number of Oriental and Egyptian doctors,
united in opposing with the utmost vehemence, the council of
Chalcedon, and the epistle of Leo, which it had adopted as a
rule of faith. Hence arose deplorable discords, and civil wars,
whose fury and barbarity were carried to the most excessive and
incredible lengths."
ibid. p. 97. 57. "But the Roman pontiff, far superior to them all, in
wealth and power; daily added new degrees of influence and
authority to the Roman see, rendered it every where respected,
and thus imperceptibly established its supremacy," and began
the real reign of antichrist.
THE TESTIMONY
OP
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
BOOK V.
THE REIGN AND DOMINION OF ANTICHRIST.
CHAPTER I.
THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF ANTICHRIST, IN THE
FIFTH CENTURY.
The precise period in which antichrist began his reign, has heen chap. i.
a matter of great search ; and there are but few subjects on which
the learned are more divided. What has rendered this point so
extremely difficult to ascertain, was the great length of time that
was taken up in laying the foundations of his kingdom, and the
gradual manner in which his dominion arose to its greatest
height.
2. Although the intimate connexion and resemblance between
the preparatory work, and actual reign of antichrist, has rendered
the precise beginning of his reign a matter of such various con-
jecture; it has notwithstanding been agreed to by all, that there
was such a period, and that the beginning of his dominion would
finally be ascertained by the end, and confirmed by corroborating
circumstances.
3. It is further agreed, that the reign of antichrist began with
the Papal hierarchy, or supremacy of the bishop of Rome ; but
it is evident, that they must be greatly mistaken, who fix the
date of this hierarchy at the period when the bishop of Rome had
gained the entire ascendancy, and exercised all the power of a
temporal monarch, on the supposed grant of Saint Peter and
Co?istantine the Great.
4. If he must needs reign, for the purpose of bringing every
enemy into subjection, his reign must have begun long before
188
THE BEGINNING OF THE
B. V.
CHAP. I.
>egm
Newton.
Dissert, on
l'roph. vol.
i. p. 170.
Eecl. His.
tory, vol. ii.
p. 27, 28.
Dan. vii. 7.
Rev. xiii. 1.
tins period ; therefore the main question is, when did he It
to exercise that power by which he was exalted to so great a
height? In order to open this matter in its proper light, the
following facts are particularly worthy of notice, as relating to
what has already been stated concerning the ambitious views of
Leo the Great.
5. According to Mede and others, in the year 456, the Roman
empire was overrun by the Barbarians, and the city of Rome
sacked by Genseric king of the Vandals : and the year following
the empire was divided into ten kingdoms.
C. Mosheim says, " The incursions and triumphs of the Bar-
barians were so far from being prejudicial to the rising dominion
of the Roman pontiff, that they rather contributed to its ad-
vancement. For the kings., who penetrated into the empire,
were only solicitous about the methods of giving a sufficient de-
gree of stability to their respective governments. And when
they perceived the subjection of the multitude to the bishops,
and the dependance of the bishops upon the Roman pontiff, they
immediately resolved to reconcile this ghostly ruler to their in-
terests, by loading him with benefits and honors of various
kinds."
7. Likewise the wars and contentions that had long existed
among the patriarchs, and their appealing for redress to the
bishop of Rome, had most certainly given him a superiority over
all the episcopal orders. The authority of general councils was,
moreover, almost universally acknowledged; and what greater
mark of superiority could be shown to the Roman pontiff than to
adopt his letter to Flavianus as a rule of faith ?
8. Mosheim also observes that, " The declining power and
supine indolence of the emperors, left his authority almost with-
out control." Then add to all this, that in the year 457, the
emperor Marcianus died ; the same emperor who had yielded to
the lordly demand of Leo. It must then appear very evident,
that another emperor could not succeed him, who could possibly
rise in the public esteem to an equal degree of dignity and power
with the artful bishop of Rome.
9. Upon the authority of these facts, it is doubtless, with the
greatest propriety, that some have referred to this period, the
rise of the ten horns of Daniel's fourth beast, and also of the
first beast mentioned by John, who came up out of the sea.
10. This beast, as it appeared to Daniel, dreadful and terri-
ble, was a figure of the Roman empire, in its tyrannical and per-
secuting power, under the Pagan emperors. To John, the same
tyrannical power appeared as a beast coming up out of the sea,
which was evidently fulfilled in that motley change of the em-
pire, which took place under Constantine the Great.
11. Here the monster, still more dreadful and terrible, and
B. V. REIGN OF ANTICHRIST. 189
more unlike any thing that had ever been before it, rose up out chap. i.
of the sea of troubles, commotions and conflicts among different Rev. xiii.
kindreds, tongues, and people. Notwithstanding, through the 1~15-
whole reign of Constantine and his immediate successors, this
beast exhibited a plurality of heads, and these heads inspired to
the most beastly conduct.
12. Yet the monster was not complete in all his parts ; and it
was not till the period of which we are speaking, that his ten
horns appeared, which the angel expressly interpreted to be ten
kings, or rather kingdoms : and it was not till these ten horns
appeared, that the little horn could rise up among them.
13. Now observe, this last horn, which had eyes like the eyes Dan.vii. s.
of a man, and a mouth speaking great tlmigs, was little at
first, but increased in greatness, until his look became more stout ibid. 20-22.
than his felloivs ; and the same horn " made war \oith the saints,
and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came,
and judgment loas given to the saints of the Most High."
14. Then, as this last horn, which was a figure of the Papal
hierarchy, was little in its rise, and afterwards waxed great, it
answered to the poiver of the Roman pontiff, which in its rise,
was scarcely visible among the ten ruling powers, which at first
loaded him with benefits and honors, but over which the pon-
tiffs afterwards exercised unlimited authority.
15. But however imperceptible in the beginning, he was cer-
tainly known and distinguished among the ten kings, and posses-
sed a degree of power, in his very rising up, by which he might,
with as great- propriety be said to reign, as any of the other
kings.
16. When a prince or governor can pursue his own measures,
without any real obstruction, he may properly be said to reign.
What then remained after the death of Marcianus, that was
any obstruction to the growing influence and dignity of Leo the
Great ?
17. Before this period, the bishops were continually rivalling
each other ; different systems and parties clashing, and emperors
and ecclesiastics standing in each other's way, rendered it doubt-
ful which or who should be raised to the highest degree of pro-
motion. But after the rise of Leo, all the strife and contention
that abounded, only contributed the more to augment his power,
and raise to higher degrees of respect his growing authority.
18. The fact is, that no object or pursuit was, at this time, of
so public and influential a nature as that in which the priesthood
were engaged; and no revolution, either in civil or ecclesiastical
affairs, was considered of any great importance, further than as
it related to the affairs of that church, in which the bishop of
Rome filled the highest seat. And this is doubtless sufficient to
establish his supremacy, at this period ; Irow much soever inferior
190 THE BEGINNING OF THE B. V.
CHAP- L incidents may be magnified by the ingenuity of designing men,
and urged as arguments to the contrary.
19. We shall now consider the nature of this dominion of an-
tichrist, in its first beginning ; and if every thing begets its own
likeness, it can present nothing to view essentially different from
the spirit and works of Constantine.
Ecci. His- 20. The doctrine of Three persons in one God, " which, (says
p ace^m Mosheim,) in the three preceding centuries, had happily escaped
the vain curiosity of human researches," was introduced as the
fundamental faith and gospel of the Catholic church under Con-
stantine the Great. And something as mysterious remained
to be introduced as the Catholic Gospel, by Leo the Great,
namely, Two distinct natures in one Christ. And this Catholic
doctrine, (as observed in the preceding chapter,) was established
in the council of Chalcedon, assembled by the emperor Marcia-
nus, upon Leo's demand.*
21. And when this great fundamental doctrine was established,
could there be anything too mysterious to make a test of ortho-
doxy, or too contradictory to reconcile ? Well might the Lion
and the Lamb be united, Pagan and Christian, saint and sinner,
yea, heaven and hell, be blended together without change, mix-
ture or confusion.
Dan. viii. 22. Therefore it was well said of the little horn, or last king,
24- of fierce countenance, that he should understand dark sentences,
and practise and prosper, and destroy the mighty and the holy
t or, the peopleA All of which was a true figure of the horn or power of
people of the antichrist, which overthrew the primitive Church, — trod under
holy ones. ' i ' i •■> i • ' i •/•
See Mar. foot the holy Sanctuary, took away the daily spiritual sacrifice,
— scattered the power of the holy people; and set up the abomi-
nation of desolation in its stead.
23. It is observable, that although this king of fierce counte-
nance was mighty, yet it was not by his own power ; hence, all
that is said of him in the figure, applies to the work of antichrist,
through the Roman pontiffs ; for it was not of his own power ;
but through the supine indolence of the emperors, the transgres-
sions of the patriarchs and people, and the favor of the Barbarian
kings, that he was exalted.
* The reader is here presented with the opinion of John Wesley, on reading
<l Baxter's History of the Councils," which assumed the right, above ell that is
called God, to control the consciences of the human race, as far as they could ex-
tend their power.
? . "It is," says Wesley, "utterly astonishing, and would be wholly incredible,
walf°n S kut that his vouchers are beyond all exception. What a company of execrable
d 196Cy' wretches have they been, (one cannot give them a milder title, ) who have almost
in every age, since St. Cyprian, taken upon them to govern the Church! How
has one council been perpetually cursing another; and delivering all over to Satan,
whether predecessors or cotemporaries, who did not implicitly receive their deter-
minations, though generally trifling, sometimes false, and frequently unintelligible,
or self-contradictory ! Surely Mabomedanism was let loose to reform the Chris-
tians !"
p. 106.
B. V. REIGN OE ANTICHRIST. 191
24. And by such means, he vjaxed great, even against the CHAP- T-
host of heaven; and cast down some of the host, and of the Dan. viii.
stars to the ground; [such as had the brightest reflections of 10'12-
the true light,] and magnified himself against the prince of the
host.
25. He even magnified himself in the character and stead of
Christ, and from him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the
•place of his sanctuary was cast. down. Every occasion, either of
sacrificing sin, or sacrificing for sin, was removed, as soon as the
two distinct natures could be united without any change ; and
the very place of the sanctuary, or order of distinction between
the holy and profane, was cast down, to be trodden under foot of Rev. *i. l,
the Gentiles forty-two months. 2-
26. Therefore an host [of evil powers] was given him against
the daily sacrifice, by reason of the proneness of the people to
transgress ; every rank of church officers, and civil rulers, reposed
their power and confidence in him, that by his ghostly authority,
they might be furnished with power to crush and debase their
inferiors to the lowest degree of wretchedness. And thus, by
making peace with the great, and receiving them under his Cath-
olic authority, he encouraged them to destroy many.
27. The Roman empire, the bloody dragon, now grown old in Rev.xiii.2.
wickedness, bloodshed and cruelty, and under a mortal declen-
sion, overrun with Barbarians, and no further life to be derived
from supine and indolent emperors, gave up the ancient seat of
Pagan power to the ghostly bishop of that city, together with as
great authority as emperors had ever possessed.
28. And under his sanctimonious influence, the same beastly
superstitions were pushed on, under the name of religion, with
numberless additions, and with increasing authority. Mosheim Ecci. His-
says, "To enumerate the rites and institutions that were added, £"53 vo1, u'
in this century, — would require a volume of a considerable cent. v.
size."
29. Among the most noted of which, was a change in the
manner of confessing sins, introduced by a permission from Leo
the Great. "By this change, (says the historian,) one of the ibid.p.55.
greatest restraints upon licentiousness, and the only remaining
barrier of chastity, was entirely removed."
30. Then if the reign of antichrist began with a gospel and
government, under which licentiousness had no restraint, and
chastity no barrier of protection, how disagreeable must be the
task to pursue such a beastly dominion through all its progress ?
And what historian could unfold all the branches of wickedness,
perpetrated therein, through a reign of one thousand two hundred
and sixty years ?
31. From the variety of matter which historians have selected
out of the immense mass, we shall only present a few of the out-
192 THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL PROPAGATED B. V.
chap. II. lines 0f this growing hierarchy ; that by its most manifest fruit,
it may be distinguished from the righteous and peaceful dominion
of the Lamb.
CHAPTER II.
THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL PROPAGATED UNDER THE REIGN OF
ANTICHRIST, PROM THE FIFTH TO THE EIGHTH CENTURY.
Much has been said, by modern writers, about the benign
religion of Jesus, and about the salutary rays of the Gospel
enlightening the barbarous nations, even through the doleful ages
of the Papal hierarchy ; as if the reason of man must be forever
insulted with the influence of names and sounds.
2. When we hear of the religion of Jesus, the Christian doc-
trine, the light of the Gospel, the lamp of celestial truth, and
of thousands being converted, and embracing the Gospel tof
Christ ; what ideas are we to aflix to such words ? Must we take
it for granted that they are always used in their original
sense ?
3. Or, shall we not rather examine the naked objects, to
which these dignified names are given, and denominate them
according to what, in reality, they are ? And what is this victo-
rious gospel, this celestial light, and benign religion, but at
best a vain philosophy , and a motley spectacle of superstition ?
4. Loner have the mere inventions of carnal and wicked men
been imposed upon the ignorant for the light of truth — long
have mankind been deceived with their senseless jargon about
God, and Christ ; the origin of the world ; the destiny of human
souls ; the resurrection of the body; — about death, and demons ;
and divine decrees, and grace, and purgatory, and penance ; —
about the virtue of priestly prayers, and pilgrimages, and oil
from the lamp which burned over the tombs of the martyrs — of
a wooden cross, of cream and spittle, and salt and holy toater, of
vows, and relics, and monastic rules; and whatever else might
excite the blind reverence, and stupid awe of their deluded fol-
lowers.
5. These inventions ha^e served no higher purpose than to fur-
nish the priesthood with sufficient authority to tyrannize over the
common people, and live in luxury, lust, and idleness, upon their
B. V. UNDER THE REIGN OP ANTICHRIST. 193
property. This, in reality, was their benign gospel, which will CIIAP- n-
appear from the manner in which it was propagated.
6. The true Gospel of Christ Jesus was intended to save man-
kind from their sins, by leading them into the practice of piety
and virtue. Therefore, when Christ and his followers set the
example, the native excellence of thejr piety and virtue had the
greatest authority that ever the Gospel claimed over mankind,
and was the principal and most salutary means by which it was
propagated.
7. But far different was the case of antichrist. Instead of a
virtuous, upright and pious example, vain philosophy, and the
civil sword were the salutary means which he employed to re-
commend his celestial light, and which tended only to increase
unto more ungodliness, those barbarous works, which Christ
Jesus came to destroy.
8. Great numbers of the Vandals, Sueves, Goths, and Bur-
gundians, are said to have embraced Christianity, of their own
accord, in the fifth century. But from what follows, it is not
difficult to judge what it was that they embraced.
9. Mosheim says, " All these fierce and warlike nations judged Ecci. His-
a religion excellent, in proportion to the success which crowned p°'X'T0,u'
the arms of those that professed it, and esteemed, consequently,
that doctrine the best, whose professors had gained the greatest
number of Victories. When therefore, they saw the Romans pos-
sessed of an empire much more extensive than that of any other
people, they concluded that Christ, [or rather antichrist] their
god, was of all others the most worthy of religious homage."
10. Clovis, king of the Franks, was at this period, the most
famous trophy of their Catholic grace. "His conversion to the Ibid. p. 6.
Christian religion, is dated from the battle he fought with the
Alemans, in the year 496 — in which, when the Franks began to
give ground, and their affairs seemed desperate, he implored the
assistance of Christ, and solemnly engaged himself, by a vow, to
worship him as his God, if he rendered him victorious over his
enemies,"
11. Victory ensued. Clovis was, the same year, baptized at
Rheims, with three thousand of his subjects, who followed his
example. It is said that Remegius, bishop of Rheims, having
preached to Clovis, and those who had been baptized with him, a
sermon on the sufferings and death of Jesus ; the king in hearing
him, cried out " If I had been there with my Franks, that should
not have happened."
12. This may serve as a specimen to show the spirit that ani-
mated these bloody converts, as well as their ignorance of Christ
and his harmless religion. But this is not all: wonderful mira-
cles are said to have been wrought at the baptism of this first
Christian king of France: which lying tales, Mosheim observes,
p
194 THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL PROPAGATED B. V.
chap. Ir- " are utterly unworthy of credit." He further adds, that,
Ecci His- " Pious frauds were very commonly practised in Gaul and Spain
tj»fy, vol.ii. at tliis time, in order to captivate the minds of a rude and barba-
rous people, who were scarcely susceptible of a rational convic-
tion."
ibid. p. 10. IB. "The impudence of impostors, in contriving false mira-
cles, was artfully proportioned to the credulity of the vulgar ;
while the sagacious and the wise, who perceived these cheats,
were obliged to silence by the dangers that threatened their lives
and fortunes, if they detected the artifice. The prudent are
silent, the multitude believe, and impostors triumph."
ibid. p. 91, 14. In the sixth century, the conversion of several barbarous
92- nations is dated. Among whom were the Abasgi, the Heruli,
the Alans, the Lazi and Zani. Mosheim says, "The conver-
sions, indeed, however pompously they may sound, were extremely
superficial."
15. " All that was required of these darkened nations, amounted
to an oral profession of their faith in Christ, to their abstaining
from sacrificing to the gods, and their committing to memory
certain forms of doctrine. So that, even after their conversion
to Christianity, they retained their primitive feroc'ty and savage
manners, and continued to distinguish themselves by the most
horrid acts of cruelty and rapine, and the practice of all sorts of
wickedness."
10. Surely, when such religion as this is called Christianity ;
and such ferocious, savage, horrid, cruel, and rapacious wretches
are called Christians ; it should seem that the meek, mild and
harmless followers of Jesus ous;ht to have some other name ;
rather call them heretics, fanatics, wild enthusiasts, or persons
disordered in their brains. And must not the whole succeeding
history of christianizing, converting, illuminating and church-
ing the nations, appear as great a romance in the eyes of sensible
men, as the Arabian Nights, or Fairy Tales?
17. In this (sixth) century also, a vast multitude of Jews
ibid. p. 94. were converted to Christianity, and added to the church. " Many
(says Mosheim) were brought over to the truth, by the persuasion
and influence of the emperor Justinian." That these pretended
Christians were converted to the darkest schemes of hypocrisy,
and brought over into error worse than the first, let Mosheim
himself testify.
18. "It must however be acknowledged, (says he) that of
these conversions, the greatest part were owing to the liberality
of Christian princes, or to the fear of punishment, rather than to
the force of argument or to the love of truth. In Gaul, the Jews
were compelled by Childeric to receive the ordinance of bap-
tism ; and the same despotic method of converting was practised
in Spain."
B. V. UNDER THE REIGN OF ANTICHRIST. 195
19. About the same time, this Catholic gospel was propagated CHAP- IL
in Britain., among the Anglo-Saxons, the Picls, and Scots ; and Cent. vi.
also in Germany, among the Bohemians, Thuringians, and Boii.
20. But it must he confessed, even by Mosheim, " That the con- Eecl- Hjsr.
verted nations, now mentioned, retained a great part oi their former p. 92-94.
impiety, superstition and licentiousness ; and that, attached to
Christ by a mere outward and nominal profession, they, in
effect, renounced the purity of his doctrine, and the authority
of his Gospel, by their flagitious lives, and the superstitious
and idolatrous rites and institutions which they continued to
observe."
21. Here then, we have a fair statement of the nature of these
great conversions. These barbarous nations, through the despotic
power of their more barbarous conquerors, are compelled to make
a mere outward and nominal profession of Christianity, without
mending their lives, or quitting their former idolatries ! What can
such Christianizing, be but the beastly work of Antichrist, at
the head of which stood the bishop of Rome ?
22. Gregory the Great sent into Britian, A. D. 596,
forty Benedictine monks with Augustin* at their head. "After
bis arrival in England (says Maclaine) he converted the heathen
temples into places of Christian worship." And Gregory the
Great, in bis epistle to the Anglo-Saxon converts, permits them
to sacrifice to the saints, on their respective holidays, the victims
which they had formerly offered to the gods.
23. The same account of the celestial light and the divine Ibid- P' 15°-
gospel runs through the seventh century ; and St. Gal, St.
Kilian, and other Great Saints are said to convert Franks,
Frieslanders, and other nations, to the religion of Jesus.
24. But again Mosheim confesses of these gospelizers, that Ibid.p.l5l.
" Many of them discovered, in the course of their ministry, the
most turbulent passions — arrogance and ambition — avarice and
cruelty. And instead of gaining souls to Christ, they usurped a
despotic dominion over their obsequious proselytes ; and exer-
cised a princely authority over the countries where their ministry
had been successful."
25. "The conversion of the Jews seemed at a stand in this ibid. p. 152.
century. Though in many places, they were barbarously com-
pelled by the Christians, [or rather ant {christians,] to make an
outward and feigned profession of their faith in Christ."
26. "The emperor Heraclius, incensed against that miser-
able people, by the insinuations, as it is said, of the Christian
doctors, persecuted them in a cruel manner, and ordered multi-
tudes of them to be inhumanly dragged into the Christian
♦This monk Augustin, on account of his labors in propagating the Catholic
gospel in Britain, is styled the British Apostle, and was the first archbishop of
Canterbury.
196 THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL PROPAGATED, &C. B. V.
chap, it. churches, in order to be baptized by violence and compulsion.
The same odious method of converting was practised in Spain
and Gaul.''''
Ecci.His- 27. In the eighth century, '■'•Boniface, on account of his min-
d0^01'"' istGrial labors and holy exploits, was distinguished by the honor-
able title of the Apostle of the Germans." But notwithstanding
the '■'■eminent services" he is said to have rendered to Chris-
tianity, Mosheim confesses, that he "often employed violence and
terror, and sometimes artifice and fraud, in order to multiply the
number of Christians."
28. It would be endless to pursue these Catholic gospelizers
through all their tyrannical movements. Charlemagne, in the
same century, commenced hostilities in behalf of the church,
against those Saxons who inhabited Germany. "That valiant
ibid. p. 202. people, (says Mosheim,) whose love of liberty was excessive, and
whose aversion to the restraints of sacerdotal authority was in-
expressible."
29. Yet this valiant people, who had hitherto stood their
ibid. p. 20.3, ground against the fraud and violence of monks and bishops; at
& Note [i] 2aS£ overcome by the terror of punishment, and the imperious
language of victory, they suffered themselves to be baptized,
though with the greatest reluctance. For according to the
iniquitous law which these bloody gospelizers had enacted,
' ' every Saxon, who contemptuously refused to receive the sacra-
ment of baptism, was to be punished with death."
30. Such were the exploits of Charlemagne in the service of
Ibid. p. 204. Christianity, for which, " succeeding generations (says Mosheim,)
canonized his memory, and turned this bloody warrior into an
eminent saint" This '■'■eminent saint" 'made no scruple of
seeking the alliance of the infidel Saracens, that he might be more
Ibid. p. 205. effectually enabled to crush the Greeks, notwithstanding their
profession of the Christian religion.
31. If Dr. Mosheim truly saw the absurdity of such an im-
pious turn, how was it possible that he could canonize millions of
such beastly characters, in his history, under the name of Chris-
tians, and turn their absurd and ridiculous doctrines, with their
pernicious effects} into the Gospel of Christ, and the benign
religion of Jesus ?
32. Of the state of the Catholic Church at this time, Mosheim
ibid. p.213. says, "The vices of the clergy in the former century, increased,
instead of diminishing in this, and discovered itself under the
most odious characters, both in the eastern and western pro-
vinces."
R. V.
VIOLENT MEANS OP SPREADING, &C.
197
CHAPTER III.
VIOLENT MEANS OP SPREADING THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL, BY
CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS SUCCESSORS ; IN THE NINTH AND
TENTH CENTURIES.
About the close of the eighth century, the Roman pontiff was
constituted a temporal prince, by Charlemagne, who conferred
on him the splendid donation of the exarchate of Ravenna, with
its palace, and its wealth, in supreme and absolute dominion.
"And the world then beheld, for the first time, a Christian bishop
invested with the prerogatives of a temporal prince."
2. Thus the blood-stained Catholic "Saint" completed the
foundation for antichrist to rise to its height of power and domin-
ion. Previous to this, the power of the popes was, at times, kept
within some bounds by emperors; but, after this, their power
increased, and experienced little or no check, from any earthly
authority.
3. Of Charlemagne, Mosheim says, " The life of that great
prince was principally employed in the most zealous efforts to
propagate and establish the religion of Jesus, among Huns, Saz-
ons, Frieslanders, and other unenlightened nations ; but his piety
was mixed with violence.'''' Under the reign of his son Lewis,
' ' a very favorable opportunity was offered of propagating the
G-ospel among the northern nations, particularly among the in-
habitants of Sweden and Denmark.
4. Harald Klack, a petty king of Jutland, who was driven
from his dominion by Regner Lodbrock, implored the " succors "
of Lewis, who promised him protection and assistance ; on con-
dition, however, that he would embrace Christianity, and admit
the ministers of that religion to preach in his dominions." Ha-
rald submitted to these conditions, and was baptized with his
brother at Mentz, A. D., 826, and was restored to his do-
minions ; by this means, the Catholic gospel was propagated
in those countries by force of arms, rather than by force of argu-
ment.
5. "About the middle of this century, the Masians, Bulga-
rians, Gazarians, and after them Bohemians and Moravians
were converted to Christianity, by Metihodius and Cyrel, two
Greek monks, whom the' Empress Theodora had sent to dis-
pel the darkness of these idolatrous nations." Rut what sort of
Christianity was it to which all these were converted ? Let Mo-
sheim answer. "It must, however, be confessed," says he,
"■that the doctrines they were taught were far from being con-
chap. in.
Jones' Chh.
His. p. 2G1.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. ii.
p. 270.
Cent. ix.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. ii.
p. 271.
198
VIOLENT MEANS OP SPREADING
B. V.
CHAP. Ill
Eccl. His-
tory, vol.ii,
p. 274.
Ibid. p.2S7.
Milner,vol.
ii. p. -s7.
Ibid. p. 310
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. ii.
p. 373.
fonnable to that pure and excellent rule of faith and practice
laid down by our Divine Saviour and his holy Apostles.
6. "It is further certain, that there remained among these
converted nations too many traces of the idolatrous religion of
their ancestors, notwithstanding the zealous labors of their Chris-
tian guides." Of the state of the professed Christian world at
this period, Mosheim says:
7. "The impiety and licentiousness of the greatest part of the
clergy arose, at this time, to an enormous height, and stands upon
record, in the unanimous complaints of the most candid and im-
partial writers of this century. In the east, tumult, discord,,
conspiracies and treason, reigned uncontrolled, and all things
were carried by violence and force."
8. In the western provinces, the bishops were become volup-
tuous and eifeminate to a very high degree. " They passed their
lives amidst the splendor of courts and the pleasures of luxurious
indolence, which corrupted their taste, extinguished their zeal,
and rendered them incapable of performing the solemn duties of
their functions, while the inferior clergy were sunk in licentious-
ness, minded nothing but sensual gratifications, and infected with
the most heinous vices the flock."
9. " The ignorance and corruption that dishonored the Chris-
tian Church in this century, were great beyond measure ; and,
were there no other examples of their enormity upon record, than
the single instance of that stupid veneration that was paid to the
bones and carcases of departed saints, this would be sufficient to
convince us of the deplorable progress of superstition."
10. In view of the foregoing authentic picture of the universal
Church, in the three preceding centuries, what candid, what feel-
ing and reflecting, what rational soul, can help shuddering at the
idea, that this Church, clothed in the garments of blood, envelo-
ped in superstition, in ambition, wars and strifes, earthly honors
and a£o;randizements, should be considered as the true " Church
of Christ V
11. In the beginning of this century, Olans Trigg, heir to
the kingdom of Noricay, having embraced Christianity, (such as
it was,) in England, in his youth, returned to his country, and
travelled from one province to another, attended by a chosen
band of soldiers : and, by compulsion and violence, by fire and
sword, forced his subjects to profess Christianity. But the
Christian king of Swede?L invaded this Christian king's dominions,
and having defeated him, became master of Nortvay, and gave
the finishing stroke to the conversion of its inhabitants, by oblig-
ing them to abandon the gods of their ancestors, and to embrace
the universal religion of Jesus.
12. How much this resembles the preaching of the pure Gos-
pel of Jesus Christ and his Apostles ! and what we are to think
B. V. THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL. 199
of their Christianity, the candid mind may easily judge. The chap, hi.
numbers of those among the Danes, Hungarians, and other Eu- Ecci. His-
ropean nations, who retained the idolatrous religion of their an- j,01^™1' "'
cestors, was as yet very considerable; and they persecuted, with
the utmost cruelty, the neighboring nations, and such of their
fellow citizens as had embraced the Gospel.
13. " The Christian princes, in return, exerted their zeal in a
terrible manner, proclaiming capital punishment against all who
persisted in the worship of the Pagan deities. This dreadful
severity contributed much more towards the extirpation of Pa-
ganism, than the exhortations and instructions of ignorant mis-
sionaries, who were unacquainted with the true nature of the
Glospel, and dishonored its pure and holy doctrines by their licen-
tious lives, and their superstitious practices."
14. Mosheim characterizes the Catholic hierarchy in this cen-
tury thus : "The corruption of the clergy," says he, "must ap- ibid. p.3S0.
pear deplorable, beyond all expression. Both in the eastern and
western provinces, the clergy were, for the most part, composed
of a most worthless set of men, shamefully illiterate and stupid,
especially in religious matters ; equally enslaved to sensuality
and superstition, and capable of the most abominable and flagiti-
ous deeds. Besides the reproaches of the grossest ignorance, the
Latin clergy, in this century, were also chargeable, in a very
heinous degree, with concubinage and simony. "
15. "The priests, and what is still more surprising, even the ibid.p. 4C0.
sanctimonious monks, fell victims to the triumphant charms of
the sex, and to the imperious dominion of their carnal lusts, and
entering into the bonds of wedlock, or concubinage, squandered
away in a most luxurious manner, with their wives and mis-
tresses, the revenues of the Church. That the whole Christian
world was covered, at this time, with a thick and gloomy veil of
superstition, is evident from a prodigious number of testimonies Ibld-P-40S-
and examples."
16. But lest it should be supposed that these accounts were
the high wrought coloring of prejudiced protestant writers, we
give here an extract from a Catholic historian, confirming the
foregoing sad picture. "The famous Annalist of the Roman
Church," Barronius, " has the candor to own, that this was an
iron age, barren of all goodness; a leaden age, abounding in all
wickedness." "Christ was then, as it appears, in a very deep
sleep, when the ship was covered with waves; and what seemed
still worse, when the Lord was thus asleep, there were no disci-
ples, who, by their cries, could awaken him, being themselves all
fast asleep !"
1 7. " Concerning the vices and crimes of the popes in this
century, it is not my intention to attempt to palliate the account.
It was deep and atrocious as language can paint; nor can a
200 MEANS OF PROPAGATING B. V.
chap, iv, reasonable man desire more authentic evidence of history, than
Mil. Histo- that which the records both of civil and ecclesiastical history
59t)VOl'ip' aff01'd> concerning the corruption of the whole Church!"
18. If the vices and crimes of the popes, bishops and rulers of
the Church, were as deep as language could paint, and the whole
Church was corrupt, every reasonable man may see, and must be
convinced, that this Church was not the true Church of Christ,
but the Church of antichrist. How then is it possible that any
ecclesiastical writer, can attempt to insinuate, that a true line of
Christianity or a true Church could proceed from such an abom-
inable source, and be handed down through such a corrupt chan-
nel ?
19. Nay, it is impossible that this Church, which is proved by
its fruits to be of Satan, could, by any means, either by monks,
or missionaries, of whatever name or class, propagate the true
and saving Grospel of Jesus Christ, among any nation of the earth,
either barbarous or civilized.
20. The accounts of the propagation of the Grospel, and the
conversion of the barbarous nations, throughout this century, are
ibid. p. 593. |3ut one coutinue(j mags of contradiction and absurdity, a gross
abuse of "common sense," and of "rational understanding!"
And thus ends the tenth century.
CHAPTER IV.
CONTINUATION OP THE MEANS OP PROPAGATING THE CATHOLIC
GOSPEL IN THE ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CENTURIES.
Near the beginning of the eleventh century, Boleslaus, king
of Poland, entered into a bloody war with the Prussians, and
Ecci. His- "obtained by the force of penal laws and of a victorious army,
,or|^'01 1K what Adalbert, bishop of Prague, could not effect by exhorta-
tion and argument. He dragooned this savage people into the
Church."
2. Stephen, king of Hungary, had been baptized by Adal-
bert, bishop of Prague. "He showed himself," as Milner says,
"a zealous patron of the Gospel." And his zeal was much
stimulated by his pious queen, GriSLA, daughter of Henry II.
This monarch (Stephen) defeated the prince of Transylvania,
who had invaded his dominions, and took him prisoner, but re-
stored him to liberty, on condition, that he should allow the
B. V.
THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL.
201
Gospel to be preached to the Transylvanians, without molesta-
tion." This king died in 1038. "He had lived," says Milner,
"to see all Hungary become externally Christian!" Ah!
" externally Christian ! "
3. With respect to the Christianity of the Bulgarians, Milner
says, "Though Christianity existed there, it was adulterated by
papal domination, and by the fashionable superstitions." Now
let it be recollected that this same Milner has proved, beyond a
question, that the same "papal domination" was antichrist,
more than three hundred years before this period ! and conse-
quently that all these pretended conversions and professions of
Christianity, were solely the false pretensions of antichrist.
4. About the beginning of the eleventh century, Denmark
was said to have become entirely Christian; but what sort of
Christianity they embraced was soon manifested, by the conduct
of their bishops and kings, in forcibly propagating their Gospel.
5. " In Denmark, Othingar, a bishop of that country, extend-
ed the pale of that church by his labors : and Univan, the bishop
of Hamburg, under the patronage of the emperor Henry II, cut
down the idolatrous groves, which the people of his diocese fre-
quented, and erected churches in their stead."
6. "Canute, king of Denmark, warred against the turbulent
barbarians, his neighbors, and planted the profession of Chris-
tianity in CourlanA, Samogitia. and Livonia. His zeal for the
maintenance of the clergy having disgusted his subjects, he was
deserted and murdered, about 1086."" Wonderful saint!
7. It is here only necessary to remark, that every sign and
character of true and genuine Christianity, were here totally obso-
lete, and entirely out of the question. In this violent and sav-
age manner of propagating their Catholic gospel, ends this elev-
enth century.
8; "Boleslaus, duke of Poland, [a Christian duke, mind!]
having taken Stetin, the capital of Pomerania, by storm, and
laid waste the country, by fire and sword, compelled the remain-
ing inhabitants to submit at discretion," and thus Pomerania
became acquainted with Christianity. This was propagating the
Gospel with a vengeance !
9. "Boleslaus, the conqueror, engaged Otho, bishop of
Bamberg, in the work. The . duke of Pomerania, with his
companions, and the duchess with her female attendants, received
the Gospel." So says Milner. Aye! and they received such a
gospel as well became the whore of Babylon, and the scarlet
colored beast, upon which she rode !
10. "About the middle of this twelfth century, Waldemar
I, king of Denmark, unsheathed his sword, for the propagation
and advancement of Christianity; and wherever his arms were
successful, there he pulled down the temples and images of the
14
CHAP. IV.
Mil. His.
eh. iii p.
CIO, v. i.
Ibid. p. Gil.
Century
XII.
Ibid. p. 41,
v. ii.
Eccl. His-
tory,vol.
iii. p. 2-4.
202 VIOLENT MEANS OP PROPAGATING B. V.
chap. iv. gods, destroyed their altars, laid waste their sacred groves, and
substituted in their place, the Christian worship, which deserved
to be propagated by better means than the sword."
11. These are the words of Mosheim, and he might with more
propriety have said that their beastly and bloody religion de-
served to be called by some other name than that of Christianity.
But he continues his narrative in the same Catholic strain.
" The island of Ruge?i submitted to the victorious arms of Wal-
demar, A. D. 1168 ; and its fierce and savage inhabitants, who
were, in reality, no more than a band of robbers and pirates,
were obliged, by that prince, to hear the instructions of the pious
and learned doctors that followed his army, and to receive the
Christian worship."
12. "The Finlanders received the G-ospel in the same man-
ner— they were also a fierce and savage people. After many
bloody battles, they were totally defeated by Eric IX, and were
commanded to embrace the religion of the conqueror, which the
greatest part of them did, though with the utmost reluctance.
The founder and ruler of this new church [of fierce, savage rob-
bers and pirates] was Henry, archbishop of JJpsal, who accom-
panied the victorious monarch in that bloody campaign."
13. But Henry, for his severe treatment of his young con-
verts, was by them assassinated; and thus procured the honors
of saintship and martyrdom, from pope Adrian IV. Milner
Mil. His. says> " Both Eric and Henry were murdered in the same year,"
ch. vii. p. 1151. So much, then, for the evan°;elizers, and the evangelized !
42 v ii
Can the heathen mythology furnish greater monsters than doc-
tor Mosheim'' s bloody Christianity, his pious, learned, tyrannical
doctors, his fierce and savage Christians, and his lordly archbi-
shop-saints and martyrs?
14. But let us pursue the track of this wild beast a little
further, and see what gospel or good news he spread among the
Livonians. Mosheim, in his usual style, says, " The propaga-
tion of the Grospel among the Livonians was attended with much
difficulty, and also with horrible scenes of cruelty and blood-
shed."
15. " Mainard, a regular canon of St. Augustin, [having
attempted the conversion of that savage nation without success,]
addressed himself to the Roman pontiff, Urban III, who conse-
crated him bishop of the Livonians, and, at the same time, de-
clared a holy war against that obstinate people."
Ecci His- 16. "This war, which was at first carried on against the pro-
iiT p 5°1- vince of Esthonia, was continued with still greater vigor, and
rendered more universal by Berthold, abbot of Lucca, who left
his monastery to share the labors. and laurels of Mainard, whom
he, accordingly, succeeded in the see of Livonia.'1''
17. " The new bishop marched into that province at the head
B. V. THE CATHOLIC GOSPEL. 203
of a powerful army which he had raised in Saxony, preached the chap. iv.
Gospel sword in hand, and proved its truth by blows instead of
arguments." Beyond all dispute, he proved, by his unmerciful
blows, that his religion and his gospel were a brutal imposition
on the reason and lights of man.
18. Albert, canon of Bremen, became the third bishop of Livo-
nia, and followed, with a barbarous enthusiasm, the same mili-
tary methods of conversion. He entered Livonia, A. D. 1198,
with a fresh body of troops, drawn out of Saxony ; and encamp-
ing at Riga, instituted there, by the direction of the Roman
pontiff, Innocent III, the 'military order of the knights'1 sword-
bearers, who were commissioned to dragoon the Livonians into
the profession of Christianity, and to oblige them, by force of
arms, to receive the benefits of baptism.
19. "New legions were sent from Germany to second the Ecci. His-
efforts, and to add efficacy to the mission of these booted apos- u^p.™1'
ties ; and they, together with the knights' sword-bearers, so
cruelly oppressed, slaughtered, and tormented this wretched peo-
ple, that exhausted, at length, and unable to stand any longer
firm against the arm of persecution, they abandoned the statutes
of their Pagan deities, and substituted in their place the images
of the saints."
20. Mosheim at length closes his account of this wonderful
progress of the Catholic gospel among the Livonians, in the fol-
lowing inconsistent manner: "But while they received the
blessings of the Gospel, they were, at the same time, deprived
of all earthly comforts ; for their lands and possessions were
taken from them with the most odious circumstances of cru-
elty and violence, and the knights and bishops divided the
spoil."
21. Such curses of antichrist's dominion, retailed out by Cath-
olic doctors and divines, under the name of gospel-blessings, have
driven many men of honest principles to discard the name of
Christianity, and all its votaries, with the utmost abhorrence ; and
justly they might discard a religion that claimed the most dis-
tant relation to such a bloody, oppressive, and beastly hier-
archy.
22. But the votaries of such a religion have nothing to do
either with Jesus Christ or any of his followers. The true and
genuine Gospel of Christ never was preached with sword in hand;
but with the inward power and energy of the Holy Spirit, which
is a Spirit of peace, long-suffering, meekness, and mercy.
23. And when the Gospel was preached by the true messen-
gers of Christ, every creature had full liberty of choice ; and if
any embraced the truth, it was upon their own inward convic-
tion, and their estimation of its value, without any compulsion
from any other quarter.
204
VIOLENT MEANS OP PROPAGATING, &C. B. V.
Mil.Ch.
History,
vol. ii. p,
42.
chap, iv. 24. Neither did Christ Jesus, nor any of his followers, ever
enact laws to bind those who did not believe ; nor did they ever
persecute or practise war and bloodshed to promote their cause,
or increase their number ; nor compel any one to receive their
testimony, by any force, violence, or cruelty whatever. These
things are true, and cannot be denied.
25. According to Milner, in Livonia, (also in the latter part
of this century,) "violent and secular methods were principally
used, and the wretched inhabitants were compelled to receive
baptism !" And here Milner confesses truly, when he says,
"but I know no fruits that appeared in this century worthy the
Christian name." How astonishing, then, it is, that those learned
ecclesiastical writers should call such violent and horrible works,
the propagation of Christianity !
26. But what shall be said, when such false apostles and
bishops, with their sword-bearers, drunk with ambition and zeal
for dominion, are pushing on, in every direction, to extend the
limits of their lawless empire, and spreading calamity and distress
wherever they go ?
27. Can any real friend of either Grod or man look on with in-
difference, or try to amuse a distressed world with flowery tales
about a divine Gospel — ^.benign religion — and a celestial light?
Or must not reason and conscience speak out, and testify that all
such gospelizing is the deception of antichristian tyrants ? Such
awful scenes of merciless tyranny, under the mask of a Christian
profession, are the most noted achievements of Catholic empe-
rors, popes, bishops, and monks, through the whole reign of anti-
christ.
28. Many volumes could not contain a full account of all the
arts of deception, the pious frauds, the bloody wars, and horrid
massacres, the secret wickedness and open crimes, which have
been practised in this beastly kingdom under the sacred names of
God and Christ, and under a cloak of pious motives and holy
ends ; but happily, such monsters of iniquity are to be clearly
known by their fruits, their own historians being witnesses.
B. V.
THE CRUSADES, OR HOLT WARS.
205
CHAPTEK V.
THE CRUSADES, OR HOLT WARS.
The Crusades, or as they were impiously called, "Holy Wars,''''
with the infidel Turks, as they termed them, which were
carried on by the so-called "Christian world" for about 200
years, were sufficient to demonstrate to all future ages, that it
was not the Gospel, nor the spirit of Christ that they possessed,
but a spirit and system of principles falsely called, a Gospel,
directly contrary to the Gospel of Christ, and to every principle
of justice and humanity. In them the fanatical madness, bloody
cruelty, horrible and sacrilegious abominations of antichrist were
brought to their utmost height.
2. Hume terms them "the most signal and most durable
monuments of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or
nation."
3. A "fanatical monk, known by the name of Peter the
Hermit, a Frenchman, born at Amiens, in Picardy, conceived
the project of leading all the forces of Christendom against the
infidels, and driving them out of the Holy Land."
4. " The Mahometans .had made themselves masters of Pales-
tine, soon after the death of their prophet ; but they gave but
little disturbance to the zealous pilgrims who daily nocked to
Jerusalem. But about the middle of the eleventh century, the
Turks who had also embraced Mahometanism, wrested Syria
from the Saracens, who had now been in possession of it for
several centuries, and making themselves masters of Jerusalem,
the pilgrims became exposed to outrages of every kind from
these fierce barbarians."
5. " Now this same Peter the Hermit, had made the pilgrim-
age to Jerusalem, and was so deeply affected with the danger to
which his fellow pilgrims were exposed, that on his return,
he ran from province to province, with a crucifix in his hand,
exciting princes and people to undertake the "holy warfare; "
and he succeeded in everywhere, kindling the same enthusiastic
ardor for it with which he himself was animated."
6. Pope Urban II, having entered into Peter's views, sum-
moned a council at Placentia, [about 1096.] It consisted of
4000 ecclesiastics, and 30,000 of the laity, who all declared for
the war against the infidels. But few of them, however, dis-
covered any alacrity to engage personally in the enterprise."
7. " The pope, therefore, called another council, in the same
year, at Clermont, in Auvergne, which was attended by pre*
chap. v.
Hist, of
En?, vol. i.
p. 2S9.
Jones Chh.
Hist. p. 291.
206
THE CRUSADES, OR HOLT WARS.
B. V.
criAP.v. lates, nobles, and princes of the first distinction. Here the
pontiff and the hermit, exerted all their eloquence to stimulate
the audience to embark in this pious cause; and the whole
assembly, as if impelled by immediate inspiration, exclaimed
with one voice, ' It is the will of God,' '■It is the will of God!"
8. " It is indeed the ivill of God! " replied the pope; "and
let your memorable saying, the inspiration surely of the Holy
Spirit, be forever adopted as your cry for battle, to animate your
devotion and courage of the champions of Christ. His cross the
symbol of your salvation ; wear it : a rod, a bloody cross, as an
external mark on your breast or shoulders ; as a pledge of your
sacred and irrevocable engagement."
9. " The words were accordingly adopted as the motto for the
sacred standard, and as the signal for rendezvous and battle, in
all the future exploits of the champions of the Cross; as a badge
of union ; and it was affixed to their right shoulder, whence their
expedition obtained the name of Crusade."
Jones chh. 10. " Persons of all ranks now flew to arms with all ardour ; not
Hist. p. 292, on]y the gallant nobles, and their martial followers, but persons
in the humble and pacific stations of life ; ecclesiastics of every
order, and even females, concealing their sex beneath the dis- ,
guise of armor, engaged with emulation in a cause which was
deemed so sacred and meritorious."
11. "The greatest criminal entered with alacrity into a ser-
vice which they regarded as a propitiation for all their [sins and]
offences : if they succeeded, they flattered themselves with the
hope of making their fortunes in this world, and if they died, they
were promised a crown of glory in the world to come."
12. By the influence of pope, and emperor, of bishops, dukes,
monks, and all the ecclesiastical powers, an army was raised in
the eleventh century to force their gospel into Palestine. Eight
hundred thousand men, each with a consecrated cross on his right
shoulder, set out for Constantinople in the year 1096. " This
army (says Mosheim) was the greatest, and in outward appear-
ance the most formidable, that had been known in the memory
of man." This was but the beginning of this Catholic army,
which is characterized as follows.
13. " This army was a motley assemblage of monks, prosti-
tutes, artists, laborers, lazy tradesmen, merchants, boys, girls,
slaves, malefactors, and profligate debauchees who were anima-
ted solely by the prospect of spoil and plunder, and hoped to
make their fortunes by this holy campaign."
14. Dr. Maclaine, from the best authority, states that, " the
first division of this prodigious army committed the most abom-
inable enormities in the countries through which they passed,
and that there was no kind of insolence, injustice, impunity, bar-
barity, and violence, of which they were not guilty."
Eccl. His-
tory, vot.ii.
p. 429, &c!
Ibid. p. 431.
note [s.]
B. V. THE CRUSADES, OR HOLT WARS. 207
15. "Nothing perhaps in the annals of history can equal the chap. v.
flagitious deeds of this infernal rabble." So says Maclaine.
And truly, if this rabble was infernal, it was but a part of the
infernal kingdom of antichrist, which was governed by an in-
fernal priesthood ; and what could such internals ever communi-
cate to their successors, even to the latest ages, but the same
infernal spirit of deception and fraud, under the name of a
Gospel?
16. "We pass in silence, (says Moskeim,) the various enormi- EccLHis-
ties that were occasioned by these crusades, the murders, rapes, p01^.0'"'
and robberies of the most infernal nature, that were every where
committed with impunity, by these holy soldiers of God and of
Christ, as they were impiously called."
17. " In Bavaria alone, 12,01)0 Jews were massacred, and Jones C1*-
many thousands more in the other provinces of Germany.'''' " But 293. P'~ ' '
Jews were not to be found every where : these pious robbers,
having tasted the sweets of plunder, began of course to pillage
without distinction." These horrible devastations caused the
inhabitants of the countries through which they passed to rise
in defence of themselves and families, and nearly destroyed them
all.
18. A remnant, however, escaped and reached the plains of
Asia, conducted by Peter, ready to give battle to the "infidels."
Their first engagement was with Soliman, Sultan of Niece, who
fell upon this disorderly crowd, and slaughtered them almost
without resistance." Peter escaped and found his way back to
Constantinople, where he was regarded as a maniac."
19. The next division of the Crusaders, amounting to the
number of 100,000 horse, and 600,000 foot, after mostly perish-
ing, succeeded in taking Jerusalem by assault, and put the garri-
son to the sword, together with the inhabitants. Neither age nor
sex were spared ; infants perished by the same sword that pierced
the supplicating mother.
20. "When these [Christian warriors] were glutted with ibid. p. 294.
slaughter, they threw aside their arms, still streaming with blood,
and advanced with naked feet and bended knees to the sepulcher
of the Prince of Peace ! they sung anthems to the Redeemer, and
while deaf to the cries of distress from their fellow creatures,
were [hypocritically] dissolved into tears for the sufferings of the
Messiah." What tremendous blasphemy, what sacrilegious and
awful hypocrisy and deception !
21. This conquest, which took place in the year 1099, was but
temporary," very few engaged in the expedition ever returned
to their own land. Yet such was the fanatical madness of the
catholic world, that (through the influence of the popes and
catholic saints) a series of similar expeditions were carried on,
which involved nearly all Europe, and the fairest portions of
208
THE CRUSADES, OR HOLY WARS.
B. V.
chap.v. Asia and Africa, in the most horrible scenes of blood, carnage,
distress and woe !
22. "Europe was solicited for a new armament; and, as the
French had taken the lead in the former armament ; they were
on the present occasion honored with the first application for a
renewal." Eugenius III, at the time [about 1150] "filled the
papal chair." To him deputies from the East had been sent.
He wisely pitched upon the celebrated Bernard, as the instru-
ment of this pious warfare."
23. " Bernard was learned for the times in which he lived ; he
was naturally eloquent, austere in his life, irreproachable in
morals, enthusiastically zealous, and inflexible in his purpose.
He had long held the reputation of a saint, was regarded as an
oracle, and revered as a prophet ; no wonder then, (says Jonts,)
that he found means to persuade the young king of France,
Lewis VII, to engage in his fresh crusade."
Jones chh. 24. "From France, Bernard proceeded to preach the Cru-
Hist.p.895. sades in Germany; where through the force of his irresistible
eloquence, he prevailed on the emperor, Conrad III, as well as
on Frederick Barbarossa, who was afterwards emperor, and an
immense number of persons of all ranks, to take the cross, pro-
mising them in the name of the Most High, complete victory
over the infidels. He ran from city to city, every where com-
municating his enthusiasm."
25. Both the emperor and the king of France, were respec-
tively defeated, and returned to Europe, with the wreck of two
great armies, A. D. 1148, and 1149. And thus, after the power of
nearly all Europe and Asia had been exhausted in these disastrous
expeditions ; the Crusades ended in the destruction of nearly all that
were ever engaged in them, and with a total failure of their object.
Ibid. p.304. 26. "But it is needless," says Jones, "to prosecute this sub-
ject further in detail. Enough, and more than enough, has been
said to convince the reader of the deplorable state of darkness and
superstition which reigned throughout Europe, to say nothing of
Asia and Africa, during this period." *
* According to the most authentic accounts, the number of lives lost by these
sanguinary wars, has been computed to forty millions on the side of the Cru-
saders, and probably about an equal number on the Mahometan side. This would
make 400,000 a year, on an average, and about 1100 each day, for the 200 years
in which these infuriate wars were carried on. All in the name of overthrowing
the infidels and defending the benign Gospel of the Prince of Peace. Truly,
what horrible Christianity ! and what a dreadful sacrifice to such awful fanaticism !
Every rational mind must be shocked at the discordant sound. And what was the
effect? The historian observes that, " these religious wars deferred the progress
of civilization, and conferred a ferocious military character upon the people."
(See Treasury of Useful Knowledge, P. V. p. 22, 3d edition.) And we may fur-
ther add, that instead of extending even the name of Christianity, they were the
cause of the Turks in their turn taking Constantinople, and swallowing up with
their power, and overspreading with the Mahometan religion, the fairest portions
of Europe.
B. V. THE CRUSADES, OR HOLT WARS. 209
27. And in this infernal manner, did tins last horn of the chap, v.
monstrous beast, both in the Catholic and Mahometan systems,
wax exceeding great ; so that at the sight of his army and horse-
men, which were like the sand upon the sea shore for multitude,
it might" justly have been said, Who is like unto the least ? Rev.xiii.4.
Who is able to make war with him? And all the wars of both
parties were carried on to extend and defend their respective re-
ligions, by which they deluged the greatest portion of the earth
with blood and carnage. Though each party stigmatized the
other as infidels.
28. The habitable and most populous parts of the globe were
the principal objects of his ravaging power ; and all whose habi-
tation was upon the earth, who contended for his honors, plea-
sures, and preferments, were obliged to worship him, whose iniqui-
tous names and characteristics never were written in the book of
the innocent life of the Lamb.
29. They worshipped this beast, not only by enriching him
with their substance, but by conferring upon him such names and
titles of blasphemy as, Our Lord God the Pope — another God j^rv.'^ui
upon earth — King of kings and Lord of lords — The same is the p .339, 4co.
dominion of God and the Pope — Lord of the universe, arbiter of dempt. p~
the fate of kingdoms and empires — and supreme ruler over the 43-. note
kings and princes of the earth.
80. Agreeable to these blasphemous titles, his votaries main-
tain that, " The power of the Pone is greater than all created 5lss-on- ,
7 i ■ ir 7-7-7 -7 7- Proph. vol.
power, ana extends iiselj to things celestial, terrestrial, and in- ii p. 71, 72.
fernal:" that he is not only bishop of Rome, but of the whole
world, and is constituted judge in the place of God, which he fills
as the vicegerent of the Most High; that he " doeth whatsoever
he listeth, even things unlawful! and is more than God."
31. "Such blasphemies are not only allowed, but are even ap-
proved, encouraged, and rewarded in the writers of the Church
of Rome ; and they are not only the extravagances of private
writers, but are the language even of public decretals and acts
of councils." So says Netvton.
32. And the Mahometan party worship and honor the beast,
by conferring on Mohammed their founder, the title of the
" Prophet of God," sent to reform the world by the sword.
Surely, a " name of blasphemy .'" And, under the influence of
this fanatical enthusiasm, they rushed, like devouring "locusts,"
through a large portion of the earth; yet their power was of the
beast, for the Mahomedan system rose from the corruptions of
the Jewish and Christian religions : the same as did the Catholic
system, and they were both co-workers in extending and sup-
porting the poiver of the beast.
33. Thus, the beast in both systems, was not only blasphe-
mously worshipped, but he magnified himself against the Prince
210 THE ABOMINATIONS OF B. V.
chap. vi. of princes, saying, that neither princes, nor bishops, civil gover-
Eccl His_ nors nor ecclesiastical rulers, have any lawful power in Church
tory, vol i i or state, but what they derive from him : that both the ki?igdo?ns
vol. in. p. and souls of kings toere under his dominion, and, that he had
101,304. poioer to bind them, both in heaven and upon earth.
34. Such was that combination of mutual blasphemy and
wickedness that centered in the head of this last beastly king-
dom; and such was that power that was given him, not of God,
but generally and successively of all the ranks and orders of men
that existed upon the face of the whole earth. They gave their
power to the beast, to establish the dignity, honor, power, great-
ness and glory of fallen man, both in a temporal and spiritual
view ; in all which they expected to have a share.
85. It is no marvel, then, that such a hypocritical, bloody, and
cruel hierarchy should be represented, by the spirit of prophecy,
under the figure of a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blas-
phemy, on which was seated a woman arrayed in purple and
scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and
pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and
filthiness of her fornication : And upon her forehead a name
written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
Rev.xvii. MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH.
CHAPTER VI.
THE ABOMINATIONS AND PERSECUTIONS OP THE MOTHER OP
HARLOTS.
The kingdom of antichrist was first founded and established un-
der the authority of names, and always abounded with names of
blasphemy, as the principal means of deception. To spoil this
corrupt Babylon of her names, would in fact be taking away
her whole artillery, and divesting her of every weapon of defence.
2. By means of such specious names and alluring titles, with
deep artifice, and diabolical fraud, did antichrist practise and
prosper in deceiving the nations into a belief in the holy Cath-
olic church, her holy bishops, holy monks, and holy virgins — her
holy institutions, holy ordinances, and above all, her holy wars,
her holy inquisitions, and persecutions.
B. V.
THE MOTHER OP HARLOTS.
211
3. But who is the Pope? and what is the Catholic Church? chap. VI.
that they should be ornamented with vain titles, under pretence
of their conveying to later ages a religion of which they were in
every respect destitute !
4. And what are we to think of those modern writers, who, to
preserve their dying authority, and maintain their unjust titles,
and offices of dignity and profit, have imposed upon the ignorant
by their smooth words ? and although almost all Protestant wri-
ters have declai-ed the Church of Rome to be a sink of corrup-
tion, and many of her own writers have admitted the same, how,
we ask, can those writers pretend that such a Church could
spread the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ among the
nations ?
5. Are we to believe that such a corrupt church was able to
purge even herself from errors and heresies ? much less are Ave to
believe, that she could exclude from the kingdom of heaven dan-
gerous fanatics, schismatics, and enthusiasts ; and transmit the
undefiled truth to her latest posterity. And is the superstitious
authority of names and titles, popish decretals, and Catholic dog-
mas sufficient to bind reason and conscience, and every principle
of humanity and justice, and hold them forever upon the rack ?
6. If the Catholic church contained such enormities as are
stated, which her candid children do not pretend to deny, then
where can either she or her offspring find the least shadow of pre-
tence for calling their religion by the name of Jesus Christ ?
Surely, of all their abominations, this must be the greatest, and
most provoking in the eyes of a just and righteous G-od.
7. But seeing her pretensions to sanctity have been so high,
and her resemblance to the true Church of Christ so strenuously
insisted Upon, we shall notice some of the most essential points
in which this supposed resemblance consisted, and see how far
the pretensions will hold good.
8. It is said that the chief bishop in the Catholic church was Grounds of
the representative of Jesus : and that inferior bishops represented
the Apostles, who renounced the bands and fetters of a carnal
nature, did not marry nor live after the flesh, but devoted them-
selves wholly to the service of God, to labor for the salvation of
souls. "Wherein then consisted the resemblance ?
9. Bishop Newton observes that, "As long ago as the year ^isson
386, Siricius held a council of eighty bishops at Rome, and for- ii. p.s9.
bade the clergy to cohabit with their wives. This decree was
confirmed by Innocent at the beginning of the fifth century ; and
the celibacy of the clergy was fully decreed by Gregory VII, in
the eleventh century ; and this has been the xmiversal law and
practice ever since."
10. Siricius was not, however, the first who perceived the
absurdity of the professed ministers of Christ living in the works
Cath. Doct.
p. 23, 48.
212
THE ABOMINATIONS OF
B. V.
Eccl. Hist,
vol. i. p.
405.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p
Co. note.
[2.]
CHAP. VI. of natural generation ; for the council of Nice had almost come
to a resolution of imposing upon the clergy the yoke of perpetual
celibacy, when Paphnutius (an old cripple, with one eye) put a
stop to their proceedings.
11. Constantine, though he exercised no authority in the
case, manifested sufficiently which side he favored, saying, "Ego
plane, si moechantem episcopum videreni, scelus obtegerem palu-
damento." i.e. Surely if I should see a bishop committing
adultery, I should cover the dirty action with my robe. This
was great indulgence on the side of the emperor, which from
every evidence, was by the bishops infinitely improved.
12. The Nice?ie creed was introduced into Spain in the fifth
ibid. p. 195. century, professedly for the sake of condemning the Priscillian-
ists, in which there is a canon to allow every Catholic to keep at
his choice a wife, a woman, or a concubine. St. Augustin ex-
pounded it, and distinguished the concubine of a Catholic from
other concubines.
13. Where then was the great effect produced on the side of
purity by their boasted councils and decrees ? Could they ren-
der an adulterous bishop a fit representative of Jesus Christ, or
of his holy Apostles, by covering his filthy actions with even the
most spotless robe ? or by allowing him to keep a woman, or a
concubine in place of a wife ?
14. If not, let Catholics forever cease to disgrace the sacred
name of Christ or Apostle, with their sainted bishops, and monks,
and their Catholic concubines. Nor can their cause appear
in any better light under the permanent law of celibacy imposed
by Pope Gregory, if we consider the circumstances under which
that law was established, and the effects which flowed from it.
15. The licentious and scandalous conduct of the monks and
clergy was enormous, with respect to concubinage in particular.
Mosheim says, " It was practised too openly to admit of any
doubt. The priests, and what is still more surprising, even the
sanctimonious monies, fell victims to the triumphant charms of
the sex, and to the imperious dominion of their carnal lusts;
and, entering into the bonds of wedlock or concubinage, squan-
dered away in a most luxurious manner, with their wives and
mistresses, the revenues of the Church."
16. " There was a prodigious number of ecclesiastics through-
out all Europe, not only of priests and canons, but also of monks,
who kept, under the title of wives, mistresses, which they dismis-
sed at pleasure, to enjoy a licentious variety, and who not only
spent, in the most profuse and scandalous manner, the revenues
and treasures of the churches and convents to which they be-
longed, but even distributed a great part of them among their
bastards."
17. Such were the circumstances under which Gregory, in the
Eccl. His
tory. vol. ii
p. 400, 401.
Ibid.p.4S7,
note [p.]
B. V.
THE MOTHER OP HARLOTS.
213
year 1074, assembled a council at Rome, in which it was decreed,
"That the sacerdotal orders should abstain from marriage; and
that such of them as had already wives, or concubines, should
immediately dismiss them, or quit the priestly office."
18. "But no sooner was the law concerning the celibacy of the
clergy published, than those deceitful hypocrites, who were cov-
ering over their foul actions with the robes of indulgence, and
living in their lusts with mistresses under the title of wives, and
hired concubines, raised the loud complaint against their Lord
God the Pope; charged him with too great severity, "and exci-
ted the most dreadful tumults in the greatest part of the Euro-
pean provinces."
19. Gregory and his adherents were branded with the odious
name of Manicheans ; and many chose rather to abandon their
priestly honor, their religion, and their God, than their sensual
pleasures ; and to quit their benefices, that they might live in the
full gratification of their lusts.
20. Some contended for the right of matrimony at least, and
urged the authority of St. Ambrose, but in vain; Gregory con-
tinued obstinate ; and the fact was, that without such a revolu-
tion, his Catholic priesthood must have sunk into eternal infamy,
and forfeited forever, all pretensions of being the followers of the
Apostles: such were the monstrous degrees of wantonness and
debauchery into which that beastly order had run.
21. Yet severe as the law was, which obliged the sacerdotal
orders to "abstain from marriage," and dismiss their wives and
concubines, or quit the priestly office, it only turned the abomi-
nations of the Mother of Harlots into a more extensive channel, and
opened the door for indulgences of a more secret and general kind.
22. Let it be granted, that the head bishops of Rome did not
marry ; and did they resemble Jesus Christ or his Apostles any
the more for that ? The most beastly drunkard might abstain
from drinking liquor in his own house, or liquor which he had
purchased and made his own ; but could he argue from this that
he resembled a perfectly sober man who never tasted spirituous
liquor at all ?
23. But it seems the Catholic fathers and their councils were
under the necessity of enacting laws of celibacy and continency,
and of using arbitrary measures to enforce obedience. Hence it
is evident, that their laws and decrees, and all their transactions
to support the outward appearance of sanctity, were plain and
demonstrative proofs, that their pretended holy orders and holy
institutions were spurious and rotten at the very core.
24. Christ Jesus and his Apostles had no necessity for any
such laws, nor for any secular power to enforce obedience ; for
they had that spirit of purity dwelling in them, which gave them
an overcoming power over every unclean and hateful lust.
chap. vr.
Eccl His-
tory, vol ii.
p. 489, 490.
Ibid. p. 491.
Ibid.
M
note
214
THE ABOMINATIONS OF, &C.
B. V.
CHAP. VI.
History of
Redemp. p.
434. note
[m.]
25. But as the very institutions of this Mother of Harlots were
false ; so her Catholic counsellors were totally destitute of that
spirit which regulated the conduct of the Apostles of Christ ; and
therefore they had recourse to those arbitrary laws which could
neither check the ambition of deceivers from pushing into office,
nor curb their lawless passions when in office : of course, their
pretended institution of celibacy was, in every sense, contrary
both to the convincing law of Moses, and the redeeming power of
the genuine Grospel.
26. Hence their mock institutions were, eventually, produc-
tive of millions of lazy, useless beings, who for ages were a com-
mon pest to civil society. True these monastics and conven-
tuals professed continence, and chastity, and virginity, and under
this profession claimed a sumptuous living from more virtuous
citizens.
27. Although doubtless many individuals entered into these
orders from sincere motives, honestly maintained their integrity,
and lamented the general depravity; yet, few were able to resist
the growing corruptions of the times, and influence of their own
natures.
28. But how abundantly was their general hypocrisy detected,
and their base licentiousness exposed ! So much indeed, that a
convent or nunnery is a very proverb of contempt to this day !
And not only they, but every rank of the priesthood, even to the
Pope himself, bore the same general character, and gave the
most unlawful reins to secret debauchery, which has rendered the
very name of continence and chastity odious to the sense of a long
deceived world.
29. If the Catholic church had been truly convinced of the
abominations of a carnal nature, and had possessed the power of
salvation, there would never have been occasion for those indul-
gences, which the bold blasphemers dared to dispense through
the pretended virtue of Christ's blood.
30. But such was the degree of presumption and wickedness
in this Mother of Harlots, that she could fix her fees of absolu-
tion, license, and indulgence for the perpetration of the liost
horrid crimes ; and publish, so much for defiling a virgin — for
lying with mother or sister — for a priest who keeps a concubine
— for lying with a woman in the Church — for perjury — forgery
— robbery, and even for murder ; and this presumptuous mer-
chandize she carried on under the pretended seal of the court of
heaven.
31. Could then, any crime be too enormous to be committed,
when money could discharge the guilt? And could money be
wanting while orthodoxy marked out the more frugal, industrious
and virtuous part of mankind as objects of destruction, of prey
and spoil, to their persecutors ?
B. V.
BLOODY CRUELTIES OP THE, &C.
32. Had this sink of corruption let the rest of mankind alone,
her abominations would have been more tolerable; but how
deeply tinged are the crimes of this scarlet colored tvhore, when
her thirst for blood is as insatiable as her love of pleasure !
33. And I saw the woman drunken with the Hood of the
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. This was
evidently the most prominent feature of her character, as attested
by the most authentic history of those dark ages.
215
CHAP.
Vli.
Rev. xvii.
6.
CHAPTER VII.
THE BLOODY CRUELTIES OF THE BEASTLY POWER OP
ANTICHRIST.
Paul of Samosata, in the third century, had been condemned Ecci.Hist.
and deposed by a council of Catholic fathers, for his wrong no- p. .jg's.
tions about God and Christ; nevertheless he left behind him a
numerous train of followers, called Paulicians, who greatly
troubled the Church. Constans, Justinian II. and Leo the
Isaurian, exerted their zeal, in the seventh and eighth centuries, ibid. vol. ii.
against the Paulicians with a peculiar degree of bitterness and p'
fury.
2. The cruel rage of persecution, which had been for some years
suspended under the reign of the emperor Nicephorus, broke
forth with redoubled violence in the ninth century, under the reigns
of Curopalates, and Leo the Armenian, who caused the strictest
search to be made after those heretics in all the Grecian pro-
vinces ; and death was the certain doom of all such as refused to
conform to the abominable superstition of the times.
3. But the cruelty of these bloody heresy-hunters surpassed ibid. vol. ii.
all bounds, under the furious zeal of the empress Theodora. p'
In one campaign into Armenia, these relentless persecutors, after
•confiscating the goods of above a hundred thousand Paulicians,
put their possessors to death in the most barbarous manner, and
made them expire slowly in a variety of the most exquisite
tortures.
4. Such as escaped were driven to madness, and finally into
the most desperate measures of defence, after escaping to the
more humane Saracens, by whom they were protected against
the rage of their Catholic persecutors.
216 BLOODY CRUELTIES OF THE B. V.
c^Ap- 5. The Manicheans, in the fourth century, are said to have
. __ increased above the other denominations of heretics in their in-
Eccl. His- fluence and progress. During the time of their existence, "The
p.390. civil and canon laws of those times (says Robinson,) mention
Ecd. Re- seventy or eighty sorts of heretics ," of whom the penal statutes
166. ' ' say, "The Donatists and Manicheans were the worst."
6. St. August in, that Catholic oracle of Africa, had once
himself been a professed Manichean, and had he remained a
heretic, he might have continued a stranger to the diabolical
woi'k of persecuting others for their sentiments, and been ex-
empted from the just and highly merited charge of insulting the
reason and abusing the rights of mankind.
Ecci. His- 7. But when he " returned from his errors," (as Mosheim is
p. Wo™ pleased to express it,) and became a true orthodox Catholic,
then indeed, the whole force of his much admired genius, and
flowing eloquence, was employed to stir up persecution against
the heretics, and he, and other such godly men, endeavored to
inflame the passions of those in power, to extirpate the root of
this "horrible disease," which so much troubled their Catholic
peace.
ibui.noie 8. Through the influence of such imperious and bloody saints
tc-J as Augustin, severe laws were enacted by the emperors against
the Manicheans. Their assemblies were prohibited ; heavi/
penalties were imposed on their teachers ; they were branded
with infamy, and deprived of all the rights and privileges of
citizens: besides many edicts more dreadful, which are said to
be recorded in the ancient histories of those times.
9. The Donatists also suffered immense cruelties; numbers
were sent into banishment, and many of them were persecuted
with brutal barbarity, until they enjoyed some peace under the
reign of the Pagan emperor Julian, who permitted the exiles
to return to their country, and restored them to the enjoyment
of their former liberty.
10. But no sooner did the self-styled orthodox ecclesiastics
recover the dominion, than the scene changed: and who more
fit to heighten the crimson dve of the scarlet beast in causing the
lbid.p.39S. blood of heretics to be shed than St. Augustin? "He (says
B6,V0'U P" Mosheim,) animated against them, not only the province of
Africa, but also the whole Christian world, and the imperial
court."
11. The Mother of Harlots could not, at that age of apostacy,
have conceived and brought forth a more genuine offspring, to
help fill up the cup of her abominations, than that "learned and
Cent. iv. ingenious prelate," St. Augustin, a divine oracle to her adulterous
seed ; but the most contemptible tool in the eyes of the virtuous.
ibid. p. 86. He sent a Spanish presbyter into Palestine to accuse Pelagius,
who was favored by the bishop of Jerusalem. And he it was,
B. V.
BEASTLY POWER OF ANTICHRIST.
217
who, at the head of the African bishops, inflamed the Gauls,
Britons, and Africans, by their councils, and the emperors, by
their edicts and penal laws, to demolish the Pelagians.
12. The Donatists had expressly remonstrated against appeals
to the civil power in cases of religion. " The implacable Austin
(says Robinson) had spent almost half a century in banishing,
butchering, and driving all dissenters into corners ; and there he
stood, crowing to hail the return of day." But the Donatists
recovered their former liberty and tranquility by the protection
they received from the Vandals, who invaded Africa ; but as
the Vandal kingdom was brought to a period in the year 534 ;
hence, "Orthodoxy and persecution once more overwhelmed
that ill-fated country, Africa. Councils, canons, edicts and all
imaginable instruments of oppression, came rolling in like a
tide."
13. "One name given to the Donatists was Montenses, be-
cause in the caves of the mountains, in times of oppression, they
held their religious assemblies. About the beginning of the sev-
enth century, pope Gregory wrote to two African bishops to
exert themselves to suppress them. Marked out thus for ven-
geance they disappeared — and the presumption is (says Robinson)
that they went among the Pagans for a liberty which the pre-
tended followers of Jesus refused to grant them."
14. Robinson says of Gregory, who sent Augustin the monk
to preach his Catholic gospel in Britain, "In spite of his title,
St. Gregory the Great, the blood of more than two thousand
British Christians, whom he, a foreigner, had the impudence to
condemn, and the brutality to cause to be butchered, cries to
heaven against him, and his accomplice Augustin the monk."
It appears that St. Gregory had studied the great African ora-
cle— Thou shalt not revile the gods, that is, says Gregory, the
priests.
15. This Augustin was the first archbishop of Canterbury, con-
secrated by the authority of the Roman pontiff, Gregory, about
the close of >the sixth century. And the consecration of the
spiritual head of the Church of England, has continued in the
same line, to the present day. Thus, through the medium of
the Christianity of Pope Gregory, in the same line of succession
and ordination, the Church of England to this day, is proved to
be the true offspring and legitimate daughter of the old "mother
church of Rome."
16. And all the dissenters from this church, who continued to
maintain the doctrine of the Trinity, with their consecrations and
ordinations derived from her, are but the legitimate grand-daugh-
ters of the same old "mother church.''''
17. The history of the seventh century contains little more
than accounts of schisms in the Catholic church, controversies
15
CHAP.
VII.
Eccl. Re-
searches,?.
104.
Ibid. p. 110,
111.
Ibid. p. 112.
Ibid. p. 165.
Century
VI.
218
BLOODY CRUELTIES OP THE, &C.
B. V.
CHAP.
VII.
Eccl. His.
p. 176. vol.
li.
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 113.
Ibid. p. 157.
Ibid. p. 183.
vol. ii.
Century
VIII.
Jonei His.
p. S43.
Ibid. p. 215.
about the worship of images, horrible assassinations, bloody wars
between professed christian princes, and cruel persecutions of
heretics, and all dissenters from the ruling party. Also, in this
century first began the wars between the Catholic and Mahome-
tan powers.
18. "In this century," says Mosheim, "were sown the seeds
of those fatal discords, which rent asunder the bonds of Christian
communion, between the Greek and Latin churches. See how
these professed Christians hate one another! (This was doubt-
less a remark often made by the Mahometans.) What a con-
trast, to the words of Christ ' By this shall all men know that
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' '
19. " Arabs, and others called infidels, never persecuted till
the orthodox taught them. It is allowed by all, that the infernal
cruelties of the pretendedly orthodox, both in the eastern and wes-
tern empires, had rendered the name of Christianity hateful."
20. "The Saracens persecuted nobody. Jeivs and Christians
of all parties lived happy among them." Of course, those infer-
nal cruelties, together with "the bitter dissensions and cruel
animosities that reigned among the Christian sects" — dissensions
that filled a great part of the east with carnage and assassina-
tions, may be ranked among the causes that contributed to the
rapid progress of the more mild and rational religion of Ma-
homet.
21. There is yet extant a test anient arij Diploma of Mahomet,
in which he promises and bequeaths to the Christians in his o-
minions, the quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of their religion,
together with their temporal advantages and possessions." Or-
thodox writers have assigned various causes for the rapid spread
of the Mahometan religion; but here is one cause clearly. set
forth.
22. The persecution of the Paulicians, and other heretics, raged
with fury in the eighth and ninth centuries. Near the close of
the seventh century, a new sect arose in the East, under the
name of Paulicians. During a period of 150 years, the Pauli-
cians seem to have been almost incessantly subjected to persecu-
tion. There were always real or reputed heretics enough to
" trouble the Church ," as ecclesiastical writers term it. There
were Montanisls, Maniclieans, and Paulicians.
23. But by whatever name they were called, according to the
various sense of ecclesiastical writers, they were, by the domi-
nant and self-styled orthodox party, counted heretics, and sub-
jected to dreadful persecutions through the three following cen-
turies.
24. The empress Theodora, exerted herself against them,
beyond all her predecessors. She sent inquisitors throughout
Asia Minor, in search of these sectaries, and is computed to have
B. V. CRUELTIES AND PERSECUTING, &C. 219
killed by the gibbet, and by fire and sword, one hundred thousand
persons, about the middle of the ninth century.
25. Pope Nicholas highly approves of Theodora's conduct,
and admired her for her implicit obedience to the Holy See ; and
commends her for the manly vigor she exerted ; the Lord co-ope-
rating against obstinate and incorrigible heretics. During the
tenth century, violent persecutions of heretics continued to rage.
Such then was the progress of persecution in the eighth, ninth,
and tenth centuries. This is a specimen of the infernal spirit,
which ruled this beastly kingdom, through all the dark ages.
CHAP.
VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE INCREASING CRUELTIES AND PERSECUTING WARS OP
THE ANTICHRISTIAN BEAST.
In the eleventh century, Europe was greatly infested with here-
tics. They spread through many provinces. They were reputed
Manicheans: In Italy they were called Paterini or Cathari,
that is, the pure: In France they were called Albigenses, Bul-
garians, and other names, sometimes according to the names of
the country in which they resided.
2. Their dangerous doctrine was first discovered by a certain Eccl.His.
priest named Heribert, and a Norman nobleman, upon which ^I;"1'-
Robert, king of France, assembled a council at Orleans, to
devise methods for reclaiming those harmless people, not, truly,
from the error, but, from* the innocence of their ways ; but they
remaining obstinate, were at length condemned to be burnt
alive.
3. Their enemies acknowledge the sincerity of their piety ; and ibid, r-sco.
say, they were blackened by accusations which were evidently
false. But they were deemed unsound in their speculations con-
cerning God, the Trinity, and the human sold. Such also were
the heretics of the succeeding centuries called, Brethren and
Sisters of the free spirit, that is, free from the law of sin and
death; the Massalians and Euckites, i.e. the people who pray;
the Bogomilans, i.e. such as call for mercy. In some countries
the same class of heretics were called Beghards.
4. Catholic writers have tried to enumerate the errors of these
heretics, but they were considered too numerous; the fact is, their
220 CRUELTIES AND PERSECUTING B. V.
chap. faith and practice were contrary to the Catholic establishment in
-' every thing ; of course it would be endless to calculate their sup-
posed errors concerning baptism, the eucharist, the sanctity of
churches, altars, incense, consecrated oil, bells, beads, bishops,
funeral rites, marriages, indulgences, and the wood of the
cross.
5. In the year 1017, heretics were discovered in France,
whose doctrines were diametrically opposed to the doctrines of
the ruling Church. " On their refusing to recant, before a council,
held at Orleans, thirteen of them were burnt alive." Doubtless
these thirteen were the principal leaders, and that their followers
suffered proportionable cruelties. Milncr says, "It is certain
that they opposed the then reigning superstitions." No doubt
of this ; — and he should also, with the same candor, have said
that, they were equally opposed to the wicked lives of these false
professors of the Christian name.
Mil. Hist. 6. " Sometime after there appeared, in Flanders, another sect,
£" ' vo ' which was condemned in a synod held at Arras, in 1025. These
heretics, according to the account of their enemies, held the fol-
lowing doctrine: "This," said they, "is our doctrine, to re-
nounce the world, to bridle the lusts of the flesh, to maintain
ourselves by the labor of our own hands, to do violence to no
man, to love the brethren.'1''
7. If this plan of righteousness be observed, there is no need
of [water] baptism ; if it be neglected, baptism [by water] is of
no avail." If they lived to these principles, (and their enemies
have given no proof to the contrary,) what lover of virtue, can
be at a loss, to know to which the name Christian truly belongs,
to those reputed heretics, or their persecutors ?
Ecci. Hist. 8. Basilius was a reputed Manichean, and founder of the sect
106. m P' called Bogomilans. This aged and venerable man, being trea-
See Robin, cherously induced to unfold his doctrine to the bloody emperor
Alexias, was condemned as a heretic, and barbarously burnt
at Constantinople, which was but the 'beginning of sorrows to his
harmless followers,
ibid. p. 112. 9. Peter de Bruys was another who, in the twelfth century,
troubled the Catholic peace, and supplied the heresy -hunters with
fresh blood. They say "he attempted to remove the supersti-
tions that disfigured the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel."
He would baptize only such as were come to the full use of their
reason.
10. He rejected the notions of the real body and blood of Christ
in the eucharist, the virtue of the wooden cross, and other instru-
ments of superstition. He was followed by great numbers, and
after a laborious ministry of twenty years, was burnt at St. Giles's
in the year 1130, by an enraged populace set on by the clergy.
11. The next public disturbance arose from Henry, from whom
B. V. WARS OF THE BEAST. 221
came the Henricians. He travelled from place to place declaim- °Yuf'
ing, it is said, with the greatest vehemence and fervor against
the vices of the clergy ; at length, being seized by a certain ^m^p.'*
bishop, and condemned before pope Eugenius, he was committed 113.
to a close prison in the year 1148, where he soon after ended his
days ; leaving a train of heretics behind him in France, to sup-
ply the ravenous priesthood with blood and carnage.
12. In Brabant similar commotions were excited by the illite- ibid. p. 114.
rate Tanquelmus, "who drew after him a numerous sect." Some
of his enemies speak the worst things of him ; others say, these
infamous charges are " absolutely incredible — that these blas-
phemies were falsely charged upon him by a vindictive priest-
hood." They say he treated with contempt the external wor-
ship of Grod, and the sacraments, held clandestine meetings, and,
like other heretics, inveighed against the clergy; for which "he
was assassinated by an ecclesiastic in a cruel manner."
13. Arnold, a man of extensive learning, and remarkable aus- lbid.p.115.
terity, excited new troubles in Italy. By his instigations, it is
said, the people even insulted the persons of the clergy in a dis-
orderly manner. He was, however, seized in the year 1155,
publicly crucified, and afterwards burnt to ashes ; leaving behind
him a great number of disciples, to perplex the priesthood about
their overgrown opulence, papal revenues, and ungodly authority.
14. Spain had long been teeming with heresy ; even from the
time that Mark the disciple of Hierax went into that kingdom.
Sometimes these heretics were called G?iostics, sometimes Mani-
cheans, sometimes Priscillianists ; and they flourished here,
under the last name, during a period of more than eight hundred
years.
15. Robinson says, "This body of people knew no crime of Ecci. Re-
heresy, they supposed very justly, that persecution was oppres- pe^hes'
sion, that killing for the faith was murder. If ecclesiastics had
never created a virtue called orthodoxy, the world would never
have heard of a crime called heresy." Councils never could sup-
press heresy in Spain, but the inquisition did. Innumerable
heretics resided in Spain, till they were rooted out by that
iniquitous institution.
16. After this the valleys among the Pyrenean mountains,
between France and Spain, became the sequestered habitation
of heretics. To these retreats they fled from the destructive arm
of persecution, and as they were persecuted and driven from
thence, they spread through France, Germany, and other
provinces of Europe, formed societies and were called by different
names, such as Paterini, Cathari, Beghards, Beguincs ; but
were more generally called Albigenses and Waldenses.
17. The Manicheans, Priscillianists, and all who sprang from
the same original stock, agreed in one article, and that was
Ov>->
CRUELTIES AND PERSECUTING
B. V.
CUAP.
VIII.
Keel. Re-
searches,
p. J 25.
Eccl. Hist.
vol. ii. p.
359.
Keel. Re-
searches,
p. I(i0.
Jones Chh.
Hist. p. 206.
baptism. They all held that the Catholic'corporation was not a
church of Christ, and they therefore re-baptized such as had been
baptized in that community, before they admitted them into their
societies ; for this reason their most common name of distinction
was Anabaptists.
18. But by whatever names they might be called in different
countries, all such as renounced the papal superstition, and
placed religion in the practice of virtue, were the common objects
of persecution, to the Mother of Harlots.
19. It is truly astonishing how some ecclesiastical historians,
under the darkest period of their Church history, have continued
to style this the Christian Church, with all her train of vices
and cruelties ; and on the contrary, have defamed and blackened
the characters of those who bore a practical testimony against
this motley spectacle of vice and superstition as schismatics.,
heretics, and troublers of the Church. Instances of this kind are
not uncommon with Mosheim.
20. Moslieim, and after him Robinson, has given a fair des-
cription of what the state of this Church was at the early period
of the third century. " The most respectable writers of that age,
have put it out of the power of an historian to spread a veil over
the enormities of ecclesiastical rulers. By a train of vices they
were sunk into luxury and voluptuousness, puffed up with vanity,
arrogance and ambition, possessed with a spirit of contention and
discord, and addicted to many other vices. The effects of a cor-
rupt ambition were spread through every rank of the sacred
order."
21. This is the Church which the Manicheans, Novatians and
other heretics so much troubled in the third century, and con-
tinued to trouble in the succeeding centuries. And if such was
her corrupt state at the early period of the third century, what
must she have been in the tenth ?
22. Mosheim says, " The clergy were, for the most part, a
worthless set of men, equally enslaved to sensuality and super-
stition, and capable of the most abominable and flagitious deeds.
The pretended chiefs and rulers of the universal church, indulged
themselves in the commission of the most odious crimes, and
abandoned themselves to the lawless impulse of the most licen-
tious passions without reluctance or remorse, and whose spiritual
empire was such a diversified scene of iniquity and violence, as
never was exhibited under any of those temporal tyrants, who
have been the scourges of mankind."
23. Robinson, speaking of the supreme rulers of this universal
church, the bishops of Rome in particular, says, " Of the sinners
it may truly be affirmed, that they were sinners of size; for it
would be difficult to mention a crime which they did not commit."
"All historians" says Jones, "civil and ecclesiastical, agree in
B. V. WARS OF THE BEAST. 223
describing the tenth century of the Christian era, as the darkest S^P-
epoch in the annals of mankind.'''' '
24. Mosheim says, " The history of the Roman pontiffs that
lived in this [tenth] century, is a history of so many monsters, Ec«l.Hwt.
and not of men, and exhibits a horrible series of the most flagiti- 390.
ous, tremendous, and complicated crimes, as all writers unani- ^entury
mously confess." The Greek church in profligacy and corruption
was not far behind.
25. The same learned writer instances the example of Theophy-
lact, patriarch of Constantinople. " He sold every ecclesiastical
benefice, as soon as it became vacant. Had in his stable above
two thousand hunting horses, which he fed with pignuts, dates,
dried grapes, figs steeped in the most exquisite wines, to all
which he added the richest perfumes, &c, &c." What a Chris-
tian patriarch! what a Christian leader! and what a Christian
Church that must be !
26. In the year 1162, Lewis VII, the king of France, and Mil.Ch iv.
Henry II, king of England walked one on each side of the p- 63. vol.
Pope, holding the bridle of his horse, and conducted him to his
habitation, "exhibiting," says Baronius, (the papal historian)
" a spectacle most grateful to God, to angels, and to men !"
27. But this truly exhibited the enormous height of that
arrogant pride, and idolatrous homage to the beastly power of
man, which was the distingishing characteristic of that age, of
which the same writer owns, that it was an " iron age, barren of
all goodness; a leaden age, abounding in all wickedness.'''' (See
book IV. ch. iii. v. 15.) Such is the glaring inconsistency of all
those writers, who labor to prove that a Church of Christ ever
existed amidst this horrid and abominable kingdom of antichrist.
28. Such was the power of the popes over the princes of the
earth; and such too was the power of these princes over the
lives and fortunes of their fellow beings. By the cruel decrees
of the aforesaid Lewis and Henry, in the latter part of this
century, the heretics of France, under different names, (but
commonly called Albigenses,) "were exposed to a persecution as Mil. Hist,
cruel and atrocious as any record noted in history: " thousands p- 63.\64-
suffered by the most reproachful and cruel tortures, by hanging,
burning, &e.
29. Now if this was an " iron age, barren of all goodness, and
abounding in all manner of wickedness ; " if the vices and
crimes, and wickedness of the popes ; the bishops, and rulers of
the church, in this century, were " as deep and. atrocious as
language can paint ; " if the '■'■whole church" was corrupt ; all
of which, "both civil and ecclesiastical history, authentically
declare" every "reasonable man" must see and be convinced
that this church was not the true Church of Christ, but the
church of antichrist ! the church of Satan I
224
CRUELTIES AND PERSECUTING
B. V.
CHAP.
VIII.
Century
XIII.
Mil. Hist.
p65,&104.
vol. ii.
Rev. xvii.
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 144.
Century
XIII.
Ibid. p. 412.
30. And consequently that this church of Satan, could, by
no means whatever, nor by any monks or missionaries of what-
ever name, class, or denomination, propagate the true and saving
Gospel of Jesus Christ among any of the nations of the earth,
either barbarous or civilized.
31. But after all those terrible persecutions, by the decrees of
popes and emperors before mentioned, finding that heretics in-
creased, pope Innocent, in the year 1204, instituted the bloody
inquisition. "He authorized certain monks to frame the process
of that court, and to deliver the supposed heretics to the secular
power.
32. The beginning of this thirteenth century, saw thousands
of persons hanged or burned by these diabolical devices ! By
bloody wars and conquests in this century, nations were forced
to receive .the n,ame of Christ." And as Milner truly shows
" the papal power, at this time, ruled with absolute dominion."
33. This is the description and character of that spiritual
empire, that Christian Church, most impiously so called. It is
the character of the great whore, who sat upon many waters,
ruling the nations, with whom the kings of the earth committed
fornication, and with whose wine of fornication the inhabitants
of the earth were made drunk. Her gilded cup, her specious
and alluring profession, 'was full of abominations and filthiness of
her fornication. She was the MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. She was drunk with
the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
34. Yet those nonconformists, who would not be intoxicated
with the wine of the filthiness of her fornication must needs be
called heretics, the only fit objects of revenge and destruction.
In the progress of this beastly power, " all places of worship were
taken from heretics, and they punished for holding Conventicles,
though they held them in forests, and dens, and caves of the
earth."
35. But in this spiritual empire of iniquity, the ruling party
from the beginning, "declared themselves the only Christians,
for they believed the Trinity, and all the rest were heretics,
bound over to present and eternal perdition." Notwithstanding,
thousands (says Robinson,) set all penalties at defiance, and lived
and died, as their own understandings and consciences com-
manded them, in the practice of heresy and schism."
36. "In they year 1210, these nonconformists had become so
numerous, and so odious, that Ugo or Hugh, the old bishop of
Ferrara, obtained an edict of the emperor Otho IV, for the
suppression of them. Five years after, pope Innocent III,
held a council at the Lateran, and denounced anathemas against
heretics of all descriptions, and against the lords and their bailiffs,
who suffered them to reside on their estates."
B. V. WARS OF THE BEAST. 225
37. Men of continual employment were now in quest of c^fTp'
heretics ; bound by an oatb, to seek for tbem in towns, bouses, , _
cellars, woods, caves and fields, and to purge tbe provinces from B<jcLHist.
tbese enemies of tbe Catbolic faitb. Besides, in every city, a 261. note
council of inquisitors was erected, consisting of one priest and ™'
tbree laymen.
38. As early as tbe year 1233, tbat bloody court called tbe
Inquisition, bad a permanent establishment in Spam and France,
wbicb in its progress beigbtened, to the utmost degree, tbe
crimson color of tbat bloody beast, who instituted it, and the
infernal rabble by whom it was executed, who made it the sole
business of life to steal, to kill, and to destroy.
39. -'In the kingdom of Castile and Aragon, there were Eccl.Re-
eigbteen inquisitorial courts ; having each of tbem its counsellors, p'^s.68'
termed apostolical inquisitors; its secretaries, Serjeants, and
other officers. And besides these, there were twenty thousand
familiars dispersed throughout the kingdom, who acted as spies
and informers, and were employed to apprehend all suspected
persons, and to commit them for trial to the prisons which be-
longed to the Inquisition.''''
40. "By these familiars, persons were seized on bare sus-
picion; and in contradiction to the common rules of law, they
were put to the torture, tried and condemned by the inquisitors,
without being confronted by their accusers, or with tbe witnesses
on whose evidence they were condemned."
41. " Tbe punishments were more or less dreadful, according to
the caprice and humor of the judges. The unhappy victims were
either strangled, or committed to the flames, or loaded with
chains and shut up in dungeons during life. Their effects were
confiscated, and their families stigmatized with infamy."
42. "Authors of undoubted credit affirm, and without the ibid. p. 249.
least exaggeration, tbat millions of persons have been ruined by
this horrible court. Moors were banished, a million at a time ;
six or eight hundred thousand Jews were driven away at once,
and their immense riches seized by their accusers, and dissipated
among their persecutors."
43. " Heretics of all ranks and of various denominations were
imprisoned and burnt, or fled into other countries. This horri-
ble court (says Robinson,) is styled by a monstrous abuse of
words, " The Holy and Apostolic court of Inquisition.''''
Newton says, " It is enough to make the blood run cold, to read Diss, on
of tbe horrid murders and devastations of this time ; how many Proph. vol.
of these poor innocent Christians [i.e. heretics] were sacrificed to 175.' ' '
the blind fury and malice of their enemies ! It is computed by
Mede, from good authorities, that in France alone were slain a
million.'1''
44. "Against tbe Waldenses, (saysTAaz<wwsapopishhistorian,)
226 CRUELTIES AND PERSECUTING, &C. B. V.
CvmP' wncu exquisite punishments availed little, and the evil was ex-
, ! asperated by the remedy which had been unseasonably applied,
and their number increased daily, at length complete armies
were raised; and a war, of no less weight than what our people
had before waged against the Saracens, was decreed against
DO ' O
them. The event of which was, that they were rather slain, put
to flight, spoiled every where of their goods and dignities, and
dispersed here and there, than that convinced of their error they
repented."
45. " The Waldenses and Albigenses being persecuted in their
own country, fled for refuge into foreign nations, some into
Germany, and some into Britain. In Germany they grew and
multiplied so fast, notwithstanding the rage and violence of
croisaders and inquisitors, that at the beginning of this [four-
Century teenth] century, it is computed, that there were eighty thousand
of them in Bohemia, Austria, and the neighboring territories."
Yet comparatively, but few escaped the rage and fury of the
bloody inquisitors.
Jones' chh 40. According to Jones, when the Catholic champions were
His. p. 37i. evidently baffled by argument in a conference which they had
agreed upon with these (harmless) people, the papal armies of
pope Innocent, the bloody founder ef the horrible Inquisition,
" advanced upon them, and, by fire and faggots, instantly decided
all the points of controversy, and destroyed above 200,000 of
them, within the short space of a few months." Such was the
horrid cruelty of that monstrous wretch, who, with blasphemous
effrontery, assumed the name of Innocent.
47. " There arose in this century, various sectaries, besides the
Waldenses and Albig enses, who were cruelly persecuted, both by
popes and emperors." These sectaries went by various names,
Mii.Cn iR different countries. "It is certain" Milner says, "that
Hist p 103. there were many societies of persons in this century, called Beg-
hards, Berguines, Lollards, Brethren of the Free Spirit, Flagel-
lents, fyc, who suffered extremely from the iron hand of power."
So ends the thirteenth century, and begins the fourteenth.
B. V.
PROXIMATE CAUSES OP THE REFORMATION.
227
CHAPTER IX.
THE PROXIMATE CAUSES OP THE REFORMATION.
About the middle of this fourteenth century, John Wicldiffe
began to oppose the papal religion, and the power of the pope,
and gained mauy followers, called Lollards, who suffered much
persecution from the papists. But the labors of Wicldiffe, and
his followers, and those cruel persecutions, began to open the
eyes of rational minds, and produced divisions in the Catholic
world ; hence he was called the morning star of the Reformation.
2. "In a space of scarce thirty years, the Inquisition de-
stroyed, by various kinds of torture, one hundred and fifty thou-
sand Christians;" [i.e. heretics, such as Catholics generally call
fanatics, or 'persons disordered in their brains.] Then, how
many millions may we suppose it destroyed, in the course of 200
years, and more, from the period of its first institution.
3. "From the first institution of the Jesuits to the year 1580,
that is, in little more than thirty years, nine hundred thousand
[reputed heretics] were slain. In the Netherlands alone, the
duke of Alva boasted, that within a few years, he had despatched
to the amount of thirty-six thousand souls, and those all by the
hand of the common executioner."
4. It is therefore a just remark of Newton, that, "If Rome
Pagan hath slain her thousands of innocent Christians, [i.e. here-
tics,] Rome Christian [Rome antichrist ian\ hath slain her ten
thousands. For not to mention other outrageous slaughters and
barbarities, the croisades against the Waldenses and Albigenses,
the murders committed by the duke of Alva in the Netherlands,
the massacres in France and Ireland, will probably amount to
above ten times the number of all the Christians slain in all the
ten persecutions of the Roman emperors put together."
5. Thus we see that this universal bishop, this infallible
judge of all controversies, this sovereign of kings and disposer of
kingdoms, this vicegerent of Christ and God upon earth, has
plainly manifested his diabolical nature by his furious and infer-
nal works. And thus this Mother of all abominations, has evi-
dently exposed her scarlet color, by the millions whom she hath
persecuted unto death by every mode of torture. Is it not then
astonishing beyond all measure, that any should yet be so blind
as to imagine, that the pure Gospel and Spirit of Christ could be
conveyed to future ages through such a medium ?
6. But these horrid enormities could no longer be endured by
mankind, and hence began to alarm the more humane minds
CHAP. IX.
Century
XIV.
Mil. Chh.
Hist, vol ii.
p. 121-145,
&c.
Diss on
Proph vol.
ii. p. 196.
Ibid. p. 223.
228
PROXIMATE CAUSES OP THE REFORMATION. B. V.
CHAP. IX.
Mil. Chh.
Hist. vol. ii.
from p, 162,
to p. 196.
Mil. Chh.
Hist. vol. ii.
p. 168.
Ibid.
191.
p. 190,
among men, who thereupon set about contending for their rights :
this produced bitter dissensions, and caused continual divisions
and bloody wars in the Catholic dominions for many, years. And
so ends the fourteenth century ; but the false church, false
doctrines, and tyrannical dominions of antichrist, is not here
ended.
7. Early in the fifteenth century, ecclesiastical corruptions had
increased to an intolerable magnitude ; and Christendom had been
distracted nearly forty years, by a schism in the popedom.
" Three popes, or pretenders to the chair of St. Peter, severally
laid claim to infallibility,'''' (as Milner terms it,) "and of their
vain contest there seemed no end. To settle this dispute, and to
restore peace to the church, [peace to what church ?] and root
out heretics, was the most urgent concern of the council of Con-
stance, which was assembled in 1414. This council was compo-
sed of all the dignified characters of Europe. The result was,
that the three contending popes were deposed, and a new pope
elected.
8. " All the dignified orders in Europe there assembled
together, (says Milner,) had not sufficient spirit and integrity to
punish crimes of the most enormous nature. Yet they could burn
■without mercy, those whom they deemed heretics, though men of
real godliness.
9. " Previous to this period, John Huss and Jerome of Prague,
bad for a considerable time preached in Bohemia, against the
Catholic doctrines, and the abuses of papal power, and had gained
great numbers of followers."
10. But by the decrees of this corrupt and horrible council of
antichrist, "these two renowned preachers, and advocates of the
rights of conscience, were condemned as heretics, and perished in
the flames, although they had the promise of protection from the
emperor of Germany, their sovereign, which he basely violated.
And by the same wicked spirit, which governed the council, thou-
sands upon thousands of honest, upright persons, had to suffer
ignominious deaths."
11. "The sovereign aforesaid, was the emperor Sigismund,
who presided in this council, and was notorious for duplicity and
hypocritical profession ; he and his consort Barba, both attended
the religious ceromonies of this council ; both were infamous by
lewdness; yet he in feigned devotion, in a deacon's habit, read
the Gospel, while the pope celebrated mass."
12. Of those "dignitaries" assembled at Constance, Milner
says, " Many of them practised the foulest abominations, and
were ready to burn in the flames, as heretics, any person who
cast a censure upon their principles and practice."
13. Now if this council, composed of the highest chtrch digni-
taries of all Europe, with all its wickedness and abominations,
B. Y. PROXIMATE CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION. 229
together with all its barbarous and unrighteous decreets, does chap, ix.
not prove that antichrist had the entire dominion in the (pro-
fessed) Christian world, and that the Church of Christ did not
exist tipon earth, then the sanctuary of the saints was never
" trodden ujider foot," and the testimonies of the Prophets, of
Christ and his Apostles, are all egregious falsehoods.*
14. But the conduct of the emperors and council aforesaid, in
putting to death the two leaders, (John Huss and Jerome,) who
were characters of extraordinary talents, and whom the Bohemi-
ans looked upon as true defenders of their rights and liberties,
so enraged them, that they were driven to desperation, and took
up arms in their own defence, against the emperor and persecu-
ting power.
15. But though they were eventually overpowered by superior century
force, yet the schism was never healed, but continued to extend, xv-
and became one main source of the Reformation. Similar scenes
of persecuting violence and enormities were enacted, one after
another, through this century.
16. So long as the leaders of this beastly and blood-stained
hierarchy had the power, so long they unrelentingly used it, to
persecute and destroy every person who had virtue enough to
abstain from, and oppose their pernicious dogmas, and horrid and
filthy abominations.
17. There was no place left for the exercise of real virtue,
without facing death in its most frightful forms. About the
close of this century, the Jews, to the number of a million, were
banished from Spai?i; and the dreadful sufferings, misery and Century
destruction which they endured, can hardly be conceived by the XV-
mind of man.
18. Near the same time Jerome, an Italian monk, and zealous
preacher, with two of his companions, Dominic and Sylvester, Mil.Chh.
though Catholics, by the influence of the pope's legate, were voUi19
burnt for heresy at Florence, because they preached doctrines too
virtuous to suit the profligate papal court.
19. Previous to this, Thomas Rheden, a Frenchman, and even
* According to the account given by Jones, it appears that the principles of an-
tichrist in perfidious duplicity, shameful hypocricy, and enormous unrelenting
cruelty, had reached the utmost height in this council of Constance which human
nature is capable of exhibiting ! And its " grotesque" and ridiculous composi-
tion is thus stated by Fox: "There were," says he, "archbishops and bishops 346;
abbots and doctors 504: princes, dukes, earls, knights, and squires 16,000; pros-
titutes 450; barbers 600; musicians, cooks, and jesters 320."
What a Christian council! or rather, what an awful spectacle in the nam c of
Christian! No wonder that by their influence, multitudes of the most virtuous
people were murdered in the most horrible manner ! And these inhuman princi-
ples were followed up by their successors, and produced some of the most barbarous
acts recorded in the history of man. Such as to cause many innocent infants with
their mothers, to be frozen to death — and of those who had fled into their caves at
the tops of the mountains — 400 children were suffocated by fire and smoke, in their
cradles ; and thus exterminating a whole settlement of virtuous people, men, wo-
men, and children. (See Jones' Chh. History, pages 432, 435, and 436.)
'J
230 PROXIMATE CAUSES OP THE REFORMATION. B. V.
chap. ix. a carmelite friar, who came to Rome, in hopes of improving his
understanding in religious concerns, being surprised at the enor-
mous corruptions of that " venal city," of which he had before
no conceptions, bore an open testimony to the truth, not against
the Catholic religion, but against its corruptions; but he thereby
incurred the hatred of the ruling powers, and was burnt, four
years after his arrival at Home."
Eoci. Re- 20. "That kind of religion (says Robinson) which the Catho-
pe20;!leS' ^cs aiways propagated, ought to be considered as it really is, not
merely a religion, but as a species of government, including in
it a set of tyrannical maxims, injurious to the lives, liberties and
properties of citizens in a free state, and all tending to render
the state dependent on a faction called the Church, governed
from age to age by a succession of priests."
21. And such, we may say, was that kind of priesthood by
which the Catholic church was organized and ruled, from the be-
Acts, viii. ginning according to their degree of power and influence. Simon,
the sorcerer, bewitched the people, giving out that himself was
some great one, when therefore, under his lucrative motives,
he professed to be a Christian, he was antichrist in the seed.
3 John, o, 22. Diotrephes was a Catholic priest — antichrist in the blade
— he loved to have the pre-eminence ; he could not really perse-
cute, but he prated with malicious words against the heretic John
and his brethren, and cast them out of the Church. Councils
are but a larger growth from the same diabolical root, they are
rulers without dominion, inquisitors without an Inquisition, and
may be justly called antichrist in the ear.
Ecci. Re- • 23. " Synods of three or four bishops, framing creeds or canons
p?sso. ' f°r conscience, and attaching to a breach of them ideas of guilt,
differ from the Inquisition only as a spark of fire differs from a
city in a blaze.'.' Thus from prating they proceed to solemn
anathemas, which happily, cannot yet effect the ruin of the dis-
senter. Great Ones, however, go on to adopt Great Words,
and as their numbers and authority increase, they grasp the effec-
tual power to control the faith of mankind, and form an Inquisi-
tion in their dire decrees.
24. " Their language used to be, when they could do no bet-
ter, " If any person, king, nobleman, prelate, priest, monk, or
any of inferior rank, native or foreigner, shall at any time deny
this creed, or disobey these canons, may he be numbered nrith Ju-
das, Dathan and Abiram; may all his limbs be broken; may
his eyes be plucked out ; may his entrails be torn out of him ;
may he be smitten with the leprosy, and other diseases from the
crown of his head to the sole of his foot ; and may he suffer the
pain of eternal damnation with the devil and, his angels"
ibid p. 251. 25. " "When the inquisitors burnt thirty, sixty, ninety here-
tics at a time ; — stained the walls of their torture rooms with
B. V. PROXIMATE CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION. 231
human blood ; — while they clothed the wretched sufferers with chap.ix.
habits and caps, on which were represented devils and flames,
what did they more than finish and color a picture of which the
most ancient and sanctimonious Synods had given them a sketch ;
a picture when finished, so dreadful, that even the artists shud-
dered at the sight of their own work ! An inquisitor calls it,
Horrendum et tremendum spectaculum ! A horrid and tremend-
ous spectacle ! but liberal men (says Robinson,) have hardly words
to express their abhorrence of it."
26. Here this great fabric, which the enemy of God and man
had been laboring to establish ever since the fall, seems to have
attained its greatest height; and here it would seem that the
councils, decrees, and prayers of the whole Catholic priesthood
had their most desirable accomplishment.
27. And what more, in reality, could their Lord God the Pope,
and his subordinate legions have done, in answer to their impious
wishes, than to personate the devil and his angels, in torment-
ing those inoffensive heretics, with all manner of torture, as long
as they had it in their power ?
28. But high as this Babel of confusion had arisen, under the
reign of emperors and popes, by the labors of false teachers,
vain philosophers, lordly bishops, monks, friars, and the whole
infernal rabble ; yet its builders were far from being satisfied.
Even in their greatest victory over heresy, and the most absolute
uniformity that they could possibly attain, the lordly prelates
looked upon their established hierarchy to be quite imperfect,
and groaned for an opportunity of wresting the reins of govern-
ment out of the hands of their Lord God, in order to reform and
complete the work.
29. The fact was, their mock institutions of celibacy, and their
numerous orders of monkery, had opened such an ocean of de-
pavity and corruption, and the earth was so overrun with sanc-
timonious debauchees, and hypocritical prostitutes, whose rage for
i rthodoxy had become so excessive, and went so effectually to
extirpate every honest citizen from the earth, that it became
absolutely necessary for civil rulers to interpose for the preserva-
tion of mankind, and rescue the world from speedy and final ruin.
30. But without some religious pretext, the devotees of papal
power would have remained forever deaf to the voice of reason ;
hence the most discerning among the priesthood, who perceived
the necessity of a revolution, were ready, as soon as opportunity
offered, to furnish the rulers of the ear.h with a new scheme of
religion, as the mainspring of their reforming enterprise.
31. Schisms were common in the Catholic Church. Many, at
different periods, had grown weary of the superstitious, and
bloody religion ot the priests, had protested against it, and
adopted sentiments and manners better suited to honest citizens
232 PROXIMATE CAUSES OP THE REFORMATION. B. V.
chap ix. 0f the earth. Such had laid a sufficient foundation for an appeal
to patriarchal authority in favor of a revolution.
32. Sufficient matter was also furnished for an enterprizing
priesthood to form a new system of orthodoxy, more rational and
consistent in the eyes of a long deceived multitude, than bare-
faced popery, obscene monkery, and the barbarous inquisition;
and thus to revive and continue, under a new dispensation of
civil and religious government, the dark and deplorable reign of
antichrist.
33. Thus closes the fifteenth century, with a professed
Catholic or universal " Church of Christ, " full of all the filthiness
of her fornications, replete with cruelties, and effectually
crimsoned with the blood of martyrs.
34. But, from the horrid cruelties, avarice, hitter animosities,
and clashing parties, in that false and corrupt church, the
materials were prepared for a grand division in the Catholic
world, in the nest century, by which the power and dominion of
the beast, was broken in pieces, and thus was prepared the way
for innumerable other divisions, whereby liberty advanced, and
the human family became more free to think and act, according
to the dictates of their own understanding.
THE TESTIMONY
OF
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
BOOK VI.
THE GRAND DIVISION IN THE KINGDOM OF ANTICHRIST,
CALLED THE REFORMATION.
CHAPTER I.
THE CAUSE AND FIRST MEANS OP REFORMING THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH.
A reformation of the doctrines, worship, discipline, and gov- chap. i.
ernment of the corrupt body, church, or kingdom of antichrist,
and a restitution of all that order and glory, which God by his
holy Prophets promised to accomplish in the latter-day, are two
very different things.
2. It has been made manifest, that the faith, order, and power,
together with the whole truth and simplicity of the true and gen-
uine Church of Christ, was totally supplanted and trodden under
foot by this false and corrupt church ; and no promise either of a
reformation or restitution of the false was ever given ; but a full
restitution of the true was promised, though not to take place
until Christ should make his second appearance.
3. Therefore, what has generally passed under the name of the
Reformation, implies no other alteration in the church that then
existed, than a mere change of form ; and a reformation, or forming
a thing over again, may either be for the better or for the worse.
4. The Protestant Preformed Church* which took its rise
* We have used the term Protestant Reformed Church, to include the whole of
that divided and sub-divided party which separated from the Church of Rome, but
did not really constitute a separate church till after its founders had entered that
protest against the decrees of the Catholic party, from which protest the name
Protestant originated. This numerous and divided party, are usually sub-divided
into the Lutheran Church, and the Reformed Church, including all those various
sects which exist, as the fruits of the Reformation ; but, as they all admit of the
general appellation of Protestants, we think it not improper to distinguish them
by the above title.
16
234 FIRST MEANS. OF REFORMING B. VI.
chap. I. early in the sixteenth century, is so denominated from its first
founders protesting against the authority and form of govern-
ment practised by the pope ; while they proceeded to build up
the same people, in the same rudimental faith, upon another plan
of government.
5. And from the fruitful invention of these reformers and their
successors, innumerable forms of government have been contrived,
sects, parties, and churches formed, all differing from, and pro-
testing against their mother church, and against each other ; yet
all pretending to be the one Church of Christ.
6. The protest was by no means entered against the Catholic
church, nor was her orthodoxy ever called in question, until the
division was completed, and the reforming party had gained suffi-
cient strength to claim a right to the same power and authority
with which the Church universal had been vested.
7. Nor even then, was it ever maintained, by the promoters of
the Protestant cause, that the Catholic church was not the true
orthodox church previous to this revolution : as may appear from
what is stated by Dr. Mosheim, concerning Luther, namely:
Ecci. His- that, "he separated himself only from the Church of Rome,
i°ry' 52l" wnich considers the pope as infallible, and not from the church,
considered in a more extensive sense ; for he submitted to the
decision of the universal [or Catholic] church, when that deci-
sion should be given in a general council lawfully assembled."
Hist, of 8. Now this general council, Luther affirmed to be the repre-
Chari.es V. sentative of the Catholic church ; and therefore must have con-
122. *P sidered it, as representing the orthodox church, as much as the
council of Nice had done ; so that the protest in nowise respected
the church, but her head ; and hence it necessarily followed,
that the only point to be decided between the reforming party
and the pope, was, Who should be the head; or in other words,
Which of them should be the greatest.
9. The kingdom of antichrist was full of animosities and divi-
sions from the beginning ; and by those divisions, and a thirst
for temporal glory and dominion, the church that was established
for the domineering party, by emperors and general councils, has
been sufficiently proved to be not only false, but totally corrupt
in every part.
10. The first founders of the Reformation taught no new
doctrine different from what had been established in the general
councils of this corrupt church. Nor had they any divine autho-
rity for their conduct ; but were actuated by the suggestions of
their own natural sagacity and carnal wisdom, as the school phi-
losophers, emperors and popes, had been before them. From
whence, then, could any Reformation arise for the better, to a
church manifestly false, and wholly corrupt, both in its head
and members? An evil tree cannot bring fort h good fruit.
B. VI. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 235
11. Hence we see among the first fruits of the Reformation, chap. r-
that, instead of putting an end to those scandalous debates and
animosities, which had continued in the church for many ages,
divisions and sectaries increased and multiplied from day to day.
This may be seen in Dr. Mosheini's introduction to his history Ecci. His-
on the times of the Reformation, which he very properly calls, |"°p' g°g_
times of discord. Yet this is denominated the Blessed Refor-
mation.
12. It is not even pretended that the first reformers had any
divine authority for their conduct. This is evident from the
plain declarations of their most able defenders, who pointedly
discard the very idea of their being actuated by any extraordi-
nary illuminations of the Spirit of God, or claiming any other
light or power than that which had all along been preserved in
the church.
13. Dr. Mosheim says, "They were conducted only by the ibid. p 294,
suggestions of their natural sagacity. The Lutherans were 295-
greatly assisted, both in correcting and illustrating the articles
of their faith, partly by the controversies they were obliged to
carry on with the Roman Catholic doctors, and the disciples of
Zuingle and Calvin, and partly by the intestine divisions that
reigned among themselves." If contentions and divisions are
the effects of the true Grospel, then a fountain may, at the same
place, send forth both salt water and fresh.
14. Dr. Maclaine, speaking of the first reformers, says, ibid.p. 143.
"Those who especially merit that title, were Luther, Calvin, Apl'eu u-
Zuingle, Melancthon, Bucer, Martyr, Bullinger, Beza, Oeco-
lampadius and others." And he very justly observes, " They
pretended not to be called to the work they undertook by visions,
or internal illuminations and impulses: — they never attempted
to work miracles, nor pleaded a divine commission; — they
taught no new religion, nor laid claim to any extraordinary voca-
tion."
15. Then what other fruits could be expected, but such as a
corrupt and aspiring hierarchy had always produced, seeing they
maintained their former standing, and derived their authority
from the same corrupt source with other lordly bishops ?
16. "They had recourse to reason and argument, (says the
above writer,) to the rules of sound criticism, and to the autho-
rity and light of history. They translated the Scriptures into
the popular languages of different countries, and appealed to
them as the only test of religious truth."
17. But who authorised them to set up their reason, their
argument, and rules of criticism above their fellows ? or to assert
that their translation of the Scriptures is the only test of reli-
gious truth ? For it is plainly acknowledged that they were
never sent of God. Therefore, according to their own conces-
236
FIRST MEANS OP REFORMING
B. VI.
CHAP. I.
Jer. xiv. 14,
ch. xxiii.
20-23.
1 Cor. i 20.
Isa. xxix.
14.
Jer. xviii.
30-32
sions, they rank themselves with the false prophets whom God
spake of by the Prophet Jeremiah.
18. The prophets propliesy lies in my name. I sent them not,
neither have I commanded them, neither spake I unto them :
they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing
of naught, and the deceit of their own heart. Again: In the
latter days ye shall coiisider it perfectly. I have not sent these
prophets, yet they ran: 1 have not spoken to them, yet they pro-
phesied. And again: The prophet that hath a dream, let him
tell a dream ; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word
faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.
19. But these first reformers, according; to the writings of
their ablest defenders, had not even so much as the chaff, not
even so much as a dream or a vision, or any internal illumina-
tion of the Spirit : nothing but the suggestions of their own
natural sagacity, which in the sight of God is nothing more than
a false vision and divination, the deceit of their own heart ; and
how much less then had they that eternal word which is as a fire ?
20. But " these first reformers, were all men of learning,
they translated the Scriptures into the popular languages." But
what then ? where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of this
world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
hath he not determined that the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish ?
21. "They maintained (says Maclaine) that the faith of
Christians was to be determined by the word of God alone."
And what was this word of God alone, but the scriptures which
they translated? And who authorised them to determine the
faith of Christians, even by the words of the inspired writers,
without having themselves any inspiration or divine commission ?
The fact is, they had stolen the words from their neighbor
Catholics, and they had stolen them from the Apostles and true
followers of Christ.
22. Therefore, well said the Lord by Jeremiah : Behold I am
against the prophets, that steal my xoords every one from his
neighbor. Behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord,
that use their tongues, and say, He saith: Yet I sent them not,
nor commanded them.
23. That such were the first reformers, is a fact that cannot
be disputed, while it is strongly urged, by their ablest defenders,
that they were conducted only by the suggestions of their
natural sagacity, and had no divine commission. As no true
Gospel revolution ever was, or ever can be effected without
divine authority, and as it is acknowledged that the first re-
formers had no such authority ; therefore we must look for a very
different cause from which all those mighty effects of the Reforma-
tion flowed.
B. VI. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 237
24. Even the Apostles were commanded to wait until they CHAP- T
were baptized with the Holy Spirit, before they could either Acts 1.4. &
preach the Gospel, or build a Church. How then could any ii4-
fallen church be reclaimed and raised on the true foundation, by
the natural wisdom of man, which "discerneth not the thing's of icor. ».
• 11 14
God " without the agency of the same holy Spirit which laid that '
foundation ?
25. Thus, these reformers, as they had nothing but their
natural sagacity, evidently knew nothing of the true work of God,
nor of the foundation upon which the true Church must stand,
hence all their buildings were upon a false and rotten foundation.
26. For many centuries, the enormous power of the pope, and
the horrid crimes and corruptions of every rank and order of the
Catholic church, had been increasing until it became replete with
tyranny and all manner of wickedness ; while every attempt to
reform those open and scandalous abuses, had proved ineffectual.
27. "While the Roman pontiff slumbered in security at the Ecci. His-
head of the church, (says Mosheim,) and saw nothing through- jyfp'ag,'
out the vast extent of his dominion, but tranquility and submis-
sion ; an obscure and inconsiderable person arose, on a sudden,
in the year 1517, and laid the foundation of this long-expected
change, by opposing, with undaunted resolution, his single force
to the torrent of papal ambition and despotism."
28. "This extraordinary man was Martin Luther,* a monk
of the August inian Eremites.'''' Who also saith of himself, in
the preface to his works, " At first I was all alone ; " or as Col-
lier hath it in his Historical Dictionary , under Martin Luther,
where he praises his magnanimity, in having, "opposed himself
alone to the whole earth."
29. The beginning of the Reformation arose from the private
contentions of two monks, concerning the traffic of indulgences,
and the pope's power in regard to the remission of sin.t This
contention was carried on with great animosity, between Martin
Luther, and John Tetzel; the latter a Dominican monk,
who by public authority preached those famous indulgences of
pope Leo X.
* The place of his birth was A isleben, in Saxony, Germany.
f These indulgences [as attested by authentic history,] were dispensed on the
pretended ground that Jesus Christ and certain great saints had accumulated a fund
of supernumerary righteousness, which the popes had a right to dispense to the un-
righteous, [Catholics of course] for a large sum of money specified, more or less, ac-
cording to the various crimes by which they were absolved from their sins, even the
most enormous crimes that could be committed, past, present and future. The Mil. Chh.
cause of these indulgences being dispensed to an uncommon degree at that period, His. p. iOS,
arose from the pride and avarice of the papal court; pope Leo X. having under- 210. vol. ii.
taken to build the vast and splendid edifice, called St. Peter's Church, which
cost an immense sum of money, he found that sufficient funds could not be raised by
ordinary means ; hence he authorized agents to travel through the Catholic coun-
tries, and make sale of these indulgences, by which means enormous sums were
thus impiously drawn from the people.
238
FIRST MEANS OF REFORMING
B. VI.
CHAP. I.
Hist, of
Charles V.
vol. ii. p.
105, 107,
103.
Ibid. p. 112.
Ibid. p. 113.
Ibid. p. 120.
30. From this private quarrel, proceeded that memorable
revolution, called the Blessed Reformation. The causes, and
first means of its promotion arc briefly stated, by that noted
Protestant writer Dr. Robertson, in the following words :
31. "It was from causes seemingly fortuitous, and from a
source very inconsiderable, that all the mighty effects of the
Reformation flowed. The princes and nobles were irritated at
seeing their vassals drained of so much wealth, in order to re-
plenish the treasury of a profuse pontiff. Even the most unthink-
ing were shocked at the scandalous behaviour of Tetzel and his
associates, who often squandered in drunkenness, gaming, and
low debauchery, those sums which were piously bestowed."
32. Such then was the favorable state of affairs, when Luther
first inveighed against the traffic of indulgences. The princes
and nobles being irritated at seeing their vassals, the common
people, whom they themselves kept as slaves, drained of so much
wealth, were ready to protect Luther's cause in order to support
their own tyranny.
33. Luther published ninety-five theses or propositions against
indulgences; "to the whole (says Robertson,) he subjoined
solemn protestations of his high respect for the Apostolic
[i.e. the papal] see, and of his implicit submission to its
authority."
34. The friars of St. Angustin, Luther's own order, though ad-
dicted to the papal see with no less ready obedience than the other
monastic fraternities, gave no check to this publication. Luther
had acquired extraordinary authority among his brethren ; for he,
as well as they, professed the highest regard for the authority of
the pope.
35. "And as a secret enmity, excited by interest or emula-
tion, subsists among all the monastic orders in the Romish
church, the Augustinians were highly pleased with his invectives
against the Dominicans, and hoped to see them exposed to the
hatred and scorn of the people."
36. "Nor was his sovereign, the elector of Saxony, dissatis-
fied with this obstruction which Luther threw in the way of the
publication of indulgences. He secretly encouraged the attempt,
and flattered himself that this dispute among the ecclesiastics
themselves, might give some check to the exactions of the court
of Rome, which the secular princes had long, though without
success, been endeavoring to oppose."
37. It was therefore not from religious considerations that
Tetzel was the principal agent for Germany; but instead of returning the
money to the pope, he and his subordinates shamefully squandered a great por-
tion of it in dissipation, and the most bare-faced and shameless debauchery. This
therefore produced the quarrel between him and Luther, which like a flame spread
through the Catholic world ! Could anything more blasphemous and sacrilegious
be propagated?
B. VI. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 239
Luther was countenanced by the elector ; Lis protection flowed CHAP- L
entirely from political motives.
38. " Leo regarded with the utmost indifference the operations Hist. of
of an obscure friar, who, in the heart of Germany, carried on a JJf.j^J'-
scholastic disputation in a barbarous style. Little did he appre- 115, lie'
hend, or Luther himself dream, that the effects of this quarrel
would be so fatal to the papal see. Leo imputed the whole to
monastic enmity and emulation, [and such it really was,] and
seemed inclined not to interpose in the contest, but to allow the
Augustinians and Dominicans to wrangle about the matter with
their usual animosity." So says Robertson.
39. Here then was the first cause from which the mighty
effects of the Keformation flowed ; from quarrelling, wrangling,
and animosity, after the usual manner of the monkish orders.
The princes supported the cause from political motives, first
secretly, and then openly, and at last by force of arms.
40. These contentions, being of a growing nature, became at ibid.p.iic,
length a matter of serious concern to the pope, who in July, U/"
1518, summoned Luther to appear at Rome within sixty days,
and at the same time wrote to the elector of Saxony, not to
protect him.
41. The professors in the university of Wittemberg, after
employing several pretexts to excuse Luther from appearing at
Rome, intreated the pope that his doctrines might be examined
by some persons of learning and authority in Germany. The
elector requested the same thing of cardinal Cajetan, the pope's
legate or, representative, at the diet of Augsburg.
42. And after all this quarrelling, and wrangling about indul-
gences, "Luther himself, who, at that time, was so far from
having any intention to disclaim the papal authority, that he did
not even entertain the smallest suspicion concerning its divine
original, had written to Leo a most submissive letter, promising
an unreserved compliance with his will."
43. A striking evidence this, that Luther had no divine com-
mission ; but that he had altogether been influenced by his own
natural sagacity, and his usual spirit of animosity, as the pro-
moters of his cause have testified.
44. The contention was now carried on between Luther and ibid. p. 119,
Cajetan who was a Dominican. But as a secret enmity prevailed 120,
between the orders of St. Augustin and St. Dominic, the dispute
remained undecided, and Luther secretly retreated and published
an appeal from the pope to a general council ; but still continued
to express no less reverence than formerly for the papal see.
45. Upon this retreat of Luther, Cajetan wrote to the elector ibid. p. 121.
of Saxony, to send that seditious monk a prisoner to Ro?ne, or
to banish him out of his territories. But the elector, who had
secretly protected Luther, from political motives, now with less
240 FIRST MEANS OF REFORMING, &C. B. VI.
chap. T- reserve, but under various pretexts, and with many professions
of esteem for the cardinal, as well as reverence for the pope, not
only declined complying with either of his requests, but openly
discovered great concern for Luther's safety.
Ecci. His- 46. A new legate was now appointed by the court of Home.
ivrp.3s! ^bis was Miltitz, who held three conferences with Luther, two
in the year 1519, and one in 1520. In these conferences, Lu-
ther manifestly discovered the gross darkness and superstition
under which he still lay, and that his conduct was influenced by
a spirit of animosity and resentment against the Dominicans,
with whom he had the quarrel.
5 .p. 41. 47. "For he not only offered to observe a profound silence for
the future, with respect to indulgences, provided the same con-
ditions were imposed on his adversaries, but he went still further;
he proposed writing an humble and submissive letter to the pope,
[which he accordingly did,] acknowledging that he had carried
his zeal and animosity too far."
48. " He even consented to publish a circular letter, exhort-
ing all his disciples and followers to reverence and obey the dic-
tates of the holy Roman Church. He declared, that his only
intention, in the writings that he had composed, was to brand
with infamy those emissaries who abused its authority, and em-
ployed its protection as a mask to cover their abominable and
impious frauds."
lbid.p.42. 49. " Had the court of Ro?ne been prudent enough to have
accepted of the submission made by Luther, they would have
almost nipped in the bud the cause of the Reformation, or
would, at least, have considerably retarded its growth and pro-
gress."
50. "But the flaming and excessive zeal [or animosity] of
some inconsiderate bigots, renewed the divisions, which were so
near being healed, and, by animating both Luther and his fol-
lowers— promoted the principles, and augmented the spirit, Avhich
produced, at length, the blessed Reformation." Such is the tes-
timony of our historian.
51. But the fact was, that the flaming and excessive zeal or
animosity, of those inconsiderate bigots who animated Luther and
his followers, promoted the principles and augmented the spirit,
which produced, at length, an innumerable spawn of heresies,
seditions, tumults, blood and carnage, and every evil work.
52. Thus the first means of reforming the Church went on,
and was promoted from one degree of animosity and contention
to another, until the Reformation was completed by a grand
division between papists and protestants.
B. VI. DIVISION BETWEEN PAPISTS, &C. 241
CHAPTER II.
THE FINAL DIVISION BETAVEEN PAPISTS AND PROTESTANTS.
One of the circumstances that contributed, principally, to render chap, n
the conferences of Miltitz with Luther ineffectual, was a famous
controversy carried on at Leipsic, several weeks successively, in
the year 1519, between a Catholic doctor named Eckius, and
Luther and Carlostadt his colleague and companion.
2. "The military genius of our ancestors (says Mosheim) had Ecci. Hi«-
so far infected the schools of learning, that differences in point ivfp.43.'
of religion or literature, when they grew to a certain degree of
warmth and animosity, were decided, like the quarrels of valiant
knights, by a single combat. Some famous university was
pitched upon as the field of battle, while the rector and profes-
sors beheld the contest, and proclaimed the victory."
3. "Eckius, therefore, incompliance with the spirit of this
fighting age, challenged Carlostadt and Lather to try the force
of his theological arms. The challenge was accepted, the day
appointed, and the three champions appeared in the field.
4. Carlostadt disputed with Eckius concerning the powers ibid. p. 44.
and freedom of the human will. Luther disputed concerning the
Church of Rome; that in earlier ages it was not superior toother
churches, and combated his antagonist from the authority of the
fathers, and from the decrees of the Nicene council.
5. These disputes were carried on from the 25th of June, to
the 15th of July following. Luther 's cause was left undecided,
both were confirmed in their own opinions, and both parties
boasted of having obtained the victory.
6. In the mean time, the dissensions increased, instead of
diminished. For while Miltitz was treating with Luther in
Saxony, and the fairest prospect of accommodation was offered,
as has been observed, Eckius hastened to Rome, and entered into
a league with the Dominicans, who were in high credit at the
papal court, and entreated Leo to excommunicate Luther from
the communion of the Church.
7. The Dominicans, desirous of revenging the affront which ibid. p. so.
their order had received by Luther' }s treatment of Tetzel, used
their utmost endeavors to have the request of Eckius granted.
8. The request was granted; and the Roman pontiff issued ci'arielv
out a bull against Luther, dated the 15th of June, 1520, in y°i»P-
which all persons are forbidden to read his writings, and he is
again summoned to confess and retract his errors within the space
of sixty days ; and if he did not, is pronounced an obstinate her-
Ibid.
p. 43.
Note
[b].
Hisl.
of
Charles V.
vol. ii. p.
125.
Eccl,
His-
tory,
vol.
iv. p.
49.
127.
242
DIVISION BETWEEN ' B. IV.
CHAP- "• etic ; is excommunicated, and delivered unto Satan for the des-
truction of his flesh.
chadelv. ®" In some cities' tlie Pe0Ple violently ohstructed the promul-
vol. ii.p. gation of the bull; in others, the persons who attempted to pub-
12s- lish it were insulted, and the bull itself was torn in pieces, and
trodden under foot.
_ 10. Luther, who, but a little while before, had declared that
his only intention in the writings he had composed, was to brand
with infamy those emissaries, who abused the authority of the
holy Roman church, now boldly declared the pope to be that
man of sin, or antichrist, whose appearance was foretold in the
New Testament. He declaimed against his tyranny and usurpa-
tions with greater violence than ever, and exhorted the princes
to shake off that ignominious yoke,
ibid. p. 128. 11. Leo having, in execution of the bull, appointed Luther's
books to be burnt at Rome, he, by way of retaliation, (being evi-
dently actuated by the same spirit of fury and resentment which
influenced his adversaries) assembled all the professors and stu-
dents of the university of Wittemberg, on the 10th of December,
1520, without the walls of the city, and with great pomp, in pre-
sence of a vast multitude of spectators, cast the volumes of the
canon law, together with the bull of excommunication into the
flames ; and his example was imitated in several cities in Germany.
Ecd.His- 12. On the 6th of January, 1521, a second bull was issued
ivrp. 52!' 0ut agamst Luther, by which he was expelled from the commu-
nion of the church. Thus Licther furiously opposed the power
of the pope, and as furiously did the pope expel him from the
communion of the church,
ibid. P. 51. 13. "It is not improbable, (says Mosheim,) that Luther was
directed, in this critical measure, by persons skilled, [not in the
G-ospel, but] in the law, who are generally dextrous in furnishing
a perplexed client with nice distinctions and plausible evasions.
Be that as it may, (continues the doctor,) he separated himself
only from the church of Rome, which considers the pope as in-
fallible, and not from the church, considered in a more extensive
sense ; for he submitted to the decision of the universal [or Cath-
olic] church."
14. Therefore he still belonged, and professed to belong to
that corrupt church established by Const antine, from which the
papists originated, and to which the protestants have uniformly
with them, claimed an equal relation.
15. Here then was at length effected, that grand division in
the Catholic or universal church, first between Luther an
Leo, and consequently between the parties who espoused the
cause of each.
16. It now remained to be decided who should have the pre-
eminence ; for each had his claim, the first under a pretence of
B. VI. PAPISTS AND PROTESTANTS. 243
reforming the corruptions of the Church, and reclaiming its chap, ii.
members from a preposterous hierarchy ; and the second under
pretence of holding, by a lawful succession, the keys of St. Peter,
as Christ's vicar upon earth.
17. The true and genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ was never
preached with quarrelling and tor angling and animosity , nor
protected in shedding blood with the sword ; but with the Holy
Spirit sent doion from heaven; and the fruits of that Spirit are
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness,
and such like; to the whole of which, every proceeding of the
Reformation, stood in direct opposition from the beginning.
18. Nay more, the first reformers had sufficient reason for not
pretending to be influenced by that Spirit of goodness, for other-
wise their conduct would immediately have discovered to the
eyes of every beholder, the falsity of their pretensions.*
19. But Luther being now expelled from the good old mother Ecci.His-
church, (as Mosheim calls her) instead of being intimidated by ^ p'.ae,
the laws which she enacted against him, "thev led him to form ^>5~, and
the project of founding a church upon principles entirely oppo-
site to those of Rome.'1 And this is not all, they led him to
establish in it, a system of doctrines and ecclesiastical discipline,
agreeable to the suggestions of his own natural sagacity.
20. For to urge that the first reformers had no divine com-
mission, and were conducted o?dy by the suggestions of their
natural sagacity, as Protestant writers have done, and at the
same time to pretend that they conducted agreeable to the spirit
and, precepts of the Gospel of truth, is a palpable contradiction,
and only acting the hypocrite under the sacred names of God
and Christ.
21. The true primitive Christians professed to have, and in
truth had the Spirit of Christ, by which they were led ; and love
was the bond of their union. Whatever they suffered by cruel
persecutions, and the most ignominious deaths, they sought for
no civil powers to defend their cause, at the expense of the blood
of their fellow creatures.
* Every wise and candid person will feel it a matter of the first importance to
examine, with the utmost care and attention, that foundation on which he is called
to build his hope of happiness hereafter. Let such view the effects of that system
produced by the first reformers ; let him carefully examine that foundation upon
which all the protestant sectaries throughout the world have built their jarring
edifices, from which they have drawn their clashing creeds, and let him judge the
work by its effects. On a fair examination of their proceedings, there appears
scarcely room for a plea of sincerity in their favor; but granting that they were
even sincere, the best apology that can be made in their behalf is, that the dark
power of antichrist had covered the earth, and gross darkness had blinded the eyes
of the most sincere among them. AVhile they were united to that kingdom whose
works were contention and strife, they must have been grossly deceived to imagine
that they were the subjects of the Prince of Peace. As the fruit is the best evidence
of the nature of the tree which produced it ; so the ungodly practices of the divided
and contentious protestant sectaries are the true witnesses of the source from whence
they sprung.
iv. p. 66.
244 DIVISION BETWEEN B. VI.
chap, h. 22. But after the Alexandrian priesthood had corrupted the
truth and simplicity of the Gospel, and these dregs of Jewish and
Pagan superstition were converted into the pretended oracles of
God, and set up as a religious test of orthodoxy, then it became
highly necessary that civil rulers should assume the supremacy
in this ecclesiastical hierarchy, in order, by the power of the
sword, to defend its test and preserve it from losing ground.
23. The cause of Luther stood in evident need of such help to
prevent it from falling ; and the project which he formed of
founding a church, upon principles opposite to those of Rome,
was nothing less than to secure the aid of secular princes : par-
ticularly of John, elector of Saxony, and successor to Frede-
rick, the elector before mentioned.
Ecci. His- 24. The elector John, "convinced of the truth of Luther's
tory, vol. doctrine, and persuaded that it must lose ground and be soon sup-
pressed, if the despotic authority of the Roman pontiif remained
undisputed and entire, without hesitation or delay, assumed to
himself that supremacy in ecclesiastical matters that is the
natural right of every lawful sovereign." So says Mosheim.
25. That this sovereign had as good a right to be the supreme
head of the Catholic church as Constantiae or the pope, is not
disputed, but a supremacy over the Church of Christ, or any part
of it, was never given him. Like the kings of the Gentiles, he
might exercise lordship, create churches and priesthoods, or
reform part of the old church over again, and defend it by the
sword, and when he had done all, he could only prove by so
doing that Christ had never given him either precepts or example
for his conduct.
26. The elector John ordered a body of laws, relating to the
form of ecclesiastical government, the method of public worship,
the rank, offices, and revenues of the priesthood, to be drawn up
by Luther and Melancthon, and promulgated by heralds through-
out his dominions in the year 1527.
27. The example of this elector was followed by all the princes
and states of Germany, who renounced the papal supremacy.
Now they had a supremacy of their own, a secular prince to per-
form the functions of spiritual supremacy in the church.
28. And who now could tell the difference between setting up
a religious test of supremacy at Constantinople, at Rome, or in
Saxony? If there was any difference it was in quantity only,
and not in nature ; for all blended the spirit of violence and the
sword, with the pretended Gospel of Jesus. Likewise this
reformed supremacy and coalition of civil and ecclesiastical
powers, like the decrees of Constantine, very soon discovered the
fruits of that spirit by which Luther formed his projects.
Ibid.p.67. 29. Mosheim says, "From that time, the religious differences
between the German princes, which had been hitherto kept with-
Ibid.p. 67.
B. VI. PAPISTS AND PROTESTANTS. 245
in the bounds of moderation, broke out into a violent and lasting chap, ir.
flame."
30. Well, therefore, said the prophet Isaiah, IVickedntss *sa' **• J8-
burnetii as the fire: and James; Behold hoiv great a matter a
little fire kindhth ! and setteth on fire the course of nature ;
and is set on fire of hell. Such was the fire of discord, which
heated the spirits of the reforming party, and produced, at length,
what the)' call the Blessed Reformation !
31. So Br. Mosheim goes on, ,"The timorousness, of Frede- EccLHis-
RICK the Wise, who avoided every resolute measure that might j°?p.07-69.
be adapted to kindle the fire of discord, had preserved a sort of
external union and concord among these princes. But as soon
as his successor made it glaringly evident, that he designed to
withdraw the churches in his dominions from the jurisdiction of
Rome, and to reform the doctrine, discipline, and worship that
had been hitherto established, then indeed the scene changed."
32. Their specious union was dissolved of a sudden, the spirits ihid.p.60,
heated and divided, and an open rupture formed between the 6l-
princes, of whom one party adhered to the superstitions of their
forefathers, and the other embraced the project of reforming
their mother. But the fruits of this Reformation continued to
be such as to reduce the state of things to violence and trouble,
the natural consequence of civil and ecclesiastical combinations.
33. "Thousands of volumes, (says Robinson,) ancient and Ecci. Re-
modern, have been written to assort and conciliate this kind of parches, p.
government ; but it never can be exonerated of the charge of
inconvenience to two parties, and injustice to a third, whose in-
terests are unnaturally separated from those of the other two."
34. " There is not an evil that can blast society, which is not ibid. p. 139.
contained in this fatal coalition. Out of these two absolute
powers in one kingdom, rise new crimes, new claims, new dis-
putes, a new order of men to investigate them, new canons of
law, new officers, new courts, new taxes, new punishments, a new
world all in arms, animated with a fury that never slept, and
never cooled till one party subdued the other into silence. There
was no peace in any kingdom where this System was adopted till
either the prince disarmed the priest, of the priest dethroned the
prince."
35. Such were the blessings to mankind for which the Alex-
andrian priesthood had paved the way when Const antine
assumed the supremacy in the church ; and the diabolical farce
would seem to have been completed when the popes assumed the
reins of civil and ecclesiastical government, had not Luther ap-
peared to act the same tragedy over again by his projects with
the princes.
36. By a diet or assembly of princes, held at Spire, in 1526, Ecel. Hia-
under the emperor Charles V, who was a Roman Catholic, Ivfp'ea."
246 DIVISION BETWEEN PAPISTS, &C. B. VI.
CHAP- IL after long debates the reforming party gained the majority for a
general council to settle their controversies. It was unanimously
agreed to present a solemn address to the emperor, beseeching
him to assemble, without delay, this general council ; and it was
also agreed, that, in the mean time, the princes and states of the
empire should, in their respective dominions, be at liberty to
manage ecclesiastical matters as they should think proper; yet
so as to be able to give to Grod and to the emperor an account of
their administration.
Ecci. His- 37. Eut in another diet held at Spire, in 1529, the liberty of
iv'p.n'" tne reforming party was interrupted; for by a majority of votes
72. the former agreement was revoked, and every change declared
unlawful, that should be introduced into the established relioion,
until the determination of a general council was known.
38. The elector of Saxony, who had assumed the supremacy
in the church, considered this decree as iniquitous and intolerable ;
as did also the landgrave of Hesse, and the other members of the
diet, who were persuaded of the necessity of a reformation in the
church. Therefore they entered a protest against this decree,
and still appealed to the emperor and to a general council.
Hence arose the denomination of Protestants. Therefore, from
this period, the church must be considered as divided between
the Papists and Protestants.
39. In the year 1530, a diet was held at Augsburg, and a
confession of faith drawn up by Luther and Melancthon, called
the Augsburg Confession, was read and presented to the em-
peror.
ibid. p. 9i. 40. "The creatures of the Koman pontiff, (says Mosheim,)
who were present at this diet, employed John Faber, Eckius,
and another doctor named Cochlceus, to draw up a refutation of
this famous confession. The emperor demanded of the Protes-
tant members that they would acquiesce in it, and put an end to
their religious debates."
41. The Protestants, or creatures of Luther, declared, on the
contrary, that they were by no means satisfied with the reply of
their adversaries, and desired a copy of it to demonstrate its
weakness. " This reasonable request (says Mosheim) was refused
by the emperor."
42. Yet this was the emperor to whom they had appealed;
and all their appeals to princes and councils were of a like kind,
and produced the like fruits of more violent contentions and dis-
cord : as opposite to the nature and effects of the true Gospel, as
midnight darkness is opposite to the meridian sun.
B. VI. EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL. 247
CHAPTER III.
FRUITS AND EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL.
According to Mosheim, the votaries of Rome, had recourse to chap. in.
measures suited to the iniquity of the times, though they were Eccl His_
equally disavowed by the dictates of reason and the precepts of tory, vol.
the Gospel. These measures were, the force of the secular arm, j,gtp' 95'
and the authority of imperial edicts.
2. The Protestants, to show that they were evidently actuated
by the self-same spirit of iniquity, left no means unemployed,
however contrary to the precepts of the Gospel, that might corro-
borate to form a league for the purpose of repelling force by
force.
3. An alliance with papists against other papists, nay, with
the wickedest of popish princes, was not deemed too base, pro-
vided it was likely to answer their purposes. And instead of
imperial edicts, Luther supplied this place, by exhorting the
princes, not to abandon those truths which they had lately as-
serted with such boldness.
4. After the diet of Augsburg, in 1530, the Protestant princes Hist, of
assembled at Smalcald. " There they concluded a league against ^o"K '
all aggressors, by which they formed the Protestant states ot the si.
empire into one regular body, and beginning already to consider
themselves as such" they resolved to apply to the kings of France
and England, and implore them to patronize and assist their new
confederacy." So says Robertson.
5. The king of England was Henry VIII, the most licentious Ecci.His-
and wretched character of that age. And the king of France l^'.ee,'
was Francis I, a professed papist, a blood-thirsty and cruel 87,101.'
tyrant, who, as his own private and -personal views required, in
order to foment sedition and rebellion, could enter into a league
with the Protestants, and at other times, when he had no more
occasion for their services, could commit them daily to the flames.*
The Protestant historians have themselves given these two princes
this character.
6. This confirms what has been just now stated, that a con-
federacy would be entered into by Protestants with any, however
base or wicked, provided by it, they had a prospect of answering
their own purposes against their former brethren.
* He was indeed, tbe most inhuman, implacable and cruel tyrant, who could de-
clare, " that if he thought tho blood in his arm was tainted with the Lutheran
heresy, he would have it cut off; and that he would not spare even his own chil-
dren, if they entertained sentiments contrary to those of the Catholic church."
Moshcim's Eccl. Hist. Vol. IV, j>. 87, Note [z.]
248
EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL.
B.VI.
Hist, of
Charles V.
vol. iii. p.
336, & 343-
347, & Ecc.
Hist. vol.
iv. p. 109.
chap, in. 7# And what still more eminently discovered an antichristian
Ecci. His. spirit of division, of enmity, and a sordid thirst for pre-eminence,
iv'T>' 9g' *n ^e reforming party, was Luther's refusing to comprehend in
Nota [hj. this league, the followers of Zuingle, and those who had adopted
the sentiments and confession of Bucer, although they were his
brethren, in the present necessary work of reforming the church.
8. Time and contentions roll on, and more violent and iniqui-
tous measures ensue. The emperor, confederate with the pope,
raised an army of thirty-six thousand men in order to reduce the
Protestants to obedience. The Protestants, far superior in num-
ber, amounting to eighty-five thousand, pushed forward their
armies, and cannonaded the camp of the emperor at Ingolstadt,
but their long fomented divisions, jealousies, and spirit of con-
tention among themselves, prevented their success.
9. Had the Preformation been carried on under the name of a
political revolution, on the side of freedom, things might have
been kept in their proper order; but when divisions, perfidy,
war, and bloodshed, make up the greatest part of their transac-
tions, and all carried on under the name of the Prince of Peaee,
and the pretext of maintaining his religion, the truth was dis-
torted into falsehood, the precepts of the Gospel trodden under
foot, and the reason of mankind insulted.
10. Whatever credit may be due to the princes in the defence
of their natural and civil rights, the peaceable religion of Jesus
is manifestly put out of the question by their conduct: and
whatever deception there be in the case under religious pretexts,
the honor of this deception is due to Luther and the rest of the
Protestant priesthood.
11. From the year 1517, in which the Reformation commenced,
until the year 1546, in which Luther died, nothing but the fruits
of corrupt ambition are manifest from the whole face of history,
during that period of more than twenty-eight years. Endless
controversies, debates about diets and councils, violence and
wars, are the distinguishing marks of those times of discord.
And even the means by which the Reformation was finally estab-
lished, were as opposite to the precepts of the Gospel, as blood-
shed and robbery are opposite to peace and good will.
12. While the Papists and Protestants, and their armies, were
concerting plans to subdue each other by the sword, Maurice,
duke of Saxony, a professed protestant, and a perfect master in
the art of dissimulation, perfidiously makes a league with the
emperor, and engages to take up arms against his father-in-law,
and to strip his nearest relation of his honors and dominions.
John Frederick, elector of Sazo?iy, was his uncle, and his
father-in-law was Philip, landgrave of Hesse.
ibid. p. 353. 13. Accordingly, Maurice having assembled about twelve
thousand men, defeated the troops which the elector had left to
Hist, of
Charles V.
vol. iii. p.
353, 354.
B. VI. EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL. 249
guard his country, and took possession of his dominions. The ciiap.iii.
news of these conquests soon reached the camps, and filled the
Papists with joy, and the Protestants with terror.
14. The maxims of the princes, with regard to the conduct of History of
the war, differed as widely as those by which they were influenced voi^m. p."
in preparing for it. Perpetual contrariety, jealousy, and a spirit 343.
of contention prevailed. These multiplied dissensions flowing
from the inconsistency of their natural tempers, rendered them
more violent.
15. It was but a little while before Maurice took possession of ibid. p. 339.
his uncle's dominions, that the confederated Protestants, " de-
clared their own resolution to risk every thing in maintenance of
their religious rights. " But a spirit of discord and anxiety for
their temporal interest and safety, manifestly prevailed to put re-
ligion out of the question.
16. The elector returned with an army towards Saxony, and ibid. p. 364.
the greater part returned with their respective leaders into their
own countries, and dispersed there. All the princes in person,
and the cities by their deputies, were compelled to implore mercy
of the emperor in the humble posture of supplicants. City after
city, even those who had been the most highly distinguished for ibid. p. 365.
their zeal in their way of reformation, now submitted to such con-
ditions as the emperor was pleased to give them.
17. For no sooner was the example set of deserting the com-
mon cause, than the rest of the members became impatient to
follow it, "and seemed afraid (says Robertson,) lest others, by ibid p. 363,
getting the start of them in returning to their duty, should, on 3G4-
that account, obtain more favorable terms. Thus a confederacy,
lately so powerful as to shake the imperial throne, fell to pieces,
and was dissolved in the space of a few weeks. "
18. After these things the emperor passes on to Saxo?iy, and ibid. p. 405,
the elector and landgrave, the two most powerful protectors of 416_42L
the Protestant cause, are made prisoners, with the most humiliat- r .d
ing and aggravating terms of submission; and the perfidious 447.
Maurice becomes elector of Saxony.
19. Finally, the emperor entered Augsburg, and with great ibid.p. 43i.
pomp, re-established the rites of the Romish worship. And a
creed was drawn up containing the essential doctrines of the
Romish Church.
20. "The greatest part of those (says Mosheim,) who had the Eed. His-
resolution to dispute the authority of this imperial creed, were S^^a,
obliged to submit to it by the force of arms, and hence arose de-
plorable scenes of violence and bloodshed, which involved the
empire in the greatest calamities. " Thus the Protestant power
was reduced to its lowest extremity, while the Papal power seemed
to recover its usual strength.
21. The landgrave of Hesse, through the counsel of histreaeh-
17
250
EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL.
B. VI.
CHAP. III.
Eccl. His-
lory, vol
iv. p. 109,
110, and
note [y ]
Ibid. p. 11C.
Ibid. p. 117,
118 <te 274.
History of
Charlt-s V.
vol. iii. p.
353.
Ibid. p. 358.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol.
iv. p. 353;
and
Grounds
of C. Doc.
p. 53.
erous son-in-law Maurice, and under the promise of liberty, had
submitted to the unjust demands of the emperor ; but contrary to
the most solemn treaty, he was perfidiously imprisoned, and kept
for several years in a close and severe confinement ; and many
entreaties were made for his liberty from time to time, by
many European princes, particularly by Maurice, but without
effect.
22. Maurice, perceiving at length that he was duped by the
emperor, entered secretly into a league with the king of France,
and several German princes, for the maintenance of their rights
and liberties ; and by secret intrigue, marched a powerful army
against the emperor, and surprised him unawares at Inspruk,
where he lay with a handful of troops, and without the least ap-
prehension of clanger.
23. By this sudden and unforeseen event, was that powerful
emperor brought to conclude a treaty of peace with the Protest-
ants, which was done at Passauin the year 1552. This they call
the Bulwark of peace and liberty ! And thus, by the sword of a
traitor and a base usurper, did the beastly power of papal hierachy
receive a deadly wound.
24. It was well said, by Dr. Robertson, concerning Maurice
and his perfidious treaty with the emperor, that " History hardly
records any treaty that can be considered as a more manifest vio-
lation of the most powerful principles which ought to influence
human actions. "
25. Yet that same artful dissembler, the treacherous Maurice,
who entered into a league with the Papists against the Protestant
— who perfidiously and inhumanly stripped his nearest relation of
his honor and dominions and usurped his place — whom the Protest-
ants branded as an apostate from religion, a betrayer of liberty, a
contemner of the most sacred and natural ties ; that same perfidious
monster, according to the projects of Luther, must, of necessity,
be the supreme head of the church !
26. Maurice, however, did not live to see the effects of all his
inglorious and treacherous conduct, for he died the following year,
of a wound received, while he was fighting against Albert, of
Brandenburg. Such were the means used in Germany by Luther
and his followers, in reforming a corrupt church, and in establishing
what they call religious peace.
27. In Switzerland the Reformation was also carried on by
means diametrically opposite to the precepts of the Gospel.
Zuingle (who was cotemporary with Luther) fell in a battle, in
the year 1530, while he was defending his reformed gospel, sword
in hand, against the Papists.
28. The Reformation in England, took its rise from a rupture
between the Pope and Henry VIII, concerning a divorce which
the Pope refused to grant this licentious monarch. "A prince
B. VI. EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL. 251
(says Mosheim,) who in vices and abilities was surpassed by none chap, hi.
who swayed the sceptre in this age." Ecci. ms-
29. "The English nation was delivered from the tyranny of •ory'\oi
Rome, by Henry's renouncing the jurisdiction and supremacy of lbid.'p. 103.
its imperious pontiff." And what next? "Soon after this,
Henry was declared by the parliament and people supreme head,
on earth, of the church of England, the monasteries were sup-
pressed, and their revenues applied to other purposes."
30. But this is not all, he extended his supremacy as far as Ibid.p.i24.
his power permitted. In the year 1555, George Broicn, a monk
of the order of St. Augustin, he created archbishop of Dublin,
who caused the king's supremacy to be acknowledged in that
nation. "Henry shewed soon after, that this supremacy was
not a vain title : for he banished the monks out of that kingdom,
confiscated their revenues, and destroyed their convents."
31. Thus the same means that had been used by the bloody
Constaniine and his successors, in abolishing Paganism, and in
promoting their pretended gospel, were also used by the Re-
formers, under a pretence of abolishing superstition, and restoring
pure religion. As their fathers did, so did they.
32. From Diotrephes to Constantine, and from Constantine to
Leo, and from Leo to Luther, and so along down through the
Reformation, one and the same spirit of antichristian tyranny is
manifest from the whole tenor of orthodox history; a sordid
thirst for dominion and supremacy, accompanied with a cool
barbarity towards all who differ from the ruling party.
33. To the above words of Br. Mosheim may be added the
following from bishop Challoner, " The foundations of the Grounds of
Reformation of England were laid by manifold sacrileges, in c'£oc'
pulling down monasteries, and other houses dedicated to God,
[upon the principles of their own acknowledged ancestors] rifling
and pillaging churches, alienating church lands, &c. ; as may be
seen in the history of the Reformation by Dr. JLeylin.''''
34. "Wheresoever the reformed gospel was preached, it
brought forth seditions, tumults, rebellions, &c, as appears from
all the histories of those times. Insomuch that in France alone, *Jeru. and
the reformed gospellers, besides innumerable other outrages, are it)3.e'p'
said to have destroyed no less than twenty thousand churches.* Grounds of
How little does such a Reformation resemble the first establish- 56.
ment of the Church of Christ ! "
35. The Protestants of France were Calvinists, the disciples
and followers of John Calvin, whose principles were to defend
his reformed religion by the sword, and put heretics to death.
In the year 1560, the riotous Calvinists were called Huguenots ;
[i.e. confederates] and it was but natural for the disciples to be
as their lord. Mosheim observes concerning their commotions toryl'vdi
in that country, that, "both the contending parties committed iv-p-373.
252 EFFECTS OF THE PROTESTANT GOSPEL. B. VI.
chap. in. RUCh deeds as are yet, and always will be, remembered with
horror.'
36. These outrages, however, were calmed by Henry IV,
king of France, who renounced Protestantism and made a public
profession of Popery. Notwithstanding, by an edict, drawn up
in the year 1598, called the edict of Nantes, he gave the Pro-
Ibid.p. 373. testants liberty of conscience, and "a full security (says Mo-
sheim,) for the enjoyment of their civil rights and privileges,
without persecution or molestation from any quarter."
37. The honor, therefore, of this religious liberty, is due to
the Papists, and not to the Protestants. But it must be
observed, that this liberty proceeded from political and sinister
motives : as the religious peace, of Passau, flowed from Maurice's
treacheries.
38. Such then, as have been stated, were the first means which
the Protestants used, in reforming a base and superstitious
church ; and re-form it they did, into as many different shapes
and forms, as have been sufficient to keep the whole world in
perplexity, and which wovdd require the labor of a life to expose
to full view.
39. But if such means, as those by which the Reformation
commenced, and was promoted, and finally established, under
the name of Christ, were contrary to the precepts and example
of Christ, it still remained an incontestable truth, that the whole
work, from beginning to end, was the work of antichrist.
40. Seeing that such false and deceitful terms as the blessed,
Reformation, a religious peace, a glorious cause, fyc, are applied
to quarrelling, wrangling, animosity, endless dissensions,
perfidy, frauds, usurpations, fightings, roars and bloodshed, with
all of which the Reformation was replete ; and seeing that the
promoters of such a cause called themselves the ministers of
Christ ; then with the strictest justice and propriety may also
the following titles be applied to such.
2 Cor, xi. 41. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, trans-
13-15. forming themselves into the Apostles of Christ. And no marvel;
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. There-
fore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as
the ministers of righteousness ; tvhose end shall be according to
their toorks.
B. VI. REFORMED CHURCHES ESTABLISHED BY, &C. 253
CHAPTER IV.
REFORMED CHURCHES ESTABLISHED BY THE WORKS OF
ANTICHRIST.
The reformed churches sprang immediately out of the papal chap. I v.
hierarchy ; and being separated, founded, and established, and then-
doctrines, discipline, and government, reformed by works contrary
to, and without the example, precepts or commandments of Christ,
are properly called the works of antichrist.
2. Christ and antichrist could never sit together on one throne,
nor rule in one kingdom ; therefore, while antichrist had the
dominion, Christ had it not. Antichrist, in the time of his do-
minion, could exercise his authority over the subjects of his own
dark kingdom, but such as never claimed any relation to his or-
thodoxy ; but rather suffered death under his tyranny, were never
his subjects, but were always branded as heretics.
3. Catholic despotism, under the same orthodoxy, was invented
by the Alexandrian priesthood, in the second century, and from
thence, like the torrent of one mighty river, it came rolling along-
down to the Reformation, through emperors and popes ; and this
despotic hierarchy, through all its progress, by Protestant as well
as Popish writers, is called the Christian church !
4. At the Reformation this one great church is divided, and
soon after subdivided ; and so it continued to divide and subdivide
until numerous churches were formed and re-formed, full of
clashing principles, sectary against sectary, each claiming the
greatest evidence of orthodoxy.
5. And what is still more remarkable, all those divided churches
still continue to make up the one great body of christians, the one
great Catholic or Universal church, very properly called the
Church militant, that is, the fighting church.
6. The papal hierarchy naturally arose out of that huge mass
of corruption and motley spectacle of superstition, established by
Constantine, and called the Church ; which, from the setting
up of the school at Alexandria, until the time of Leo the Great.
is by all her conduct, most manifestly proved to be the church of
antichrist. Over this self-styled Catholic church, the bishops of
Rome took the supremacy. „. . ,
«-n i , J ~t-n ,i i- ,i i ,i History of
7. Prom about the year 756, the time the pope began to be a Redemp.
temporal prince, the Protestants have, generally, dated the begin- Pot4e3lrh]
ning of the reign of antichrist, and have taken great pains to prove, Di«s. on
that the papal power was antichrist — that the church of Borne a'0!^'
was the mother of Harlots, by whom the kings and inhabitants of 219.
254 REFORMED CHURCHES ESTABLISHED BT B. VI.
chap iv. t]je earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication — and
that the papal hierarchy, church, or kingdom, over which the popes
had the supremacy, was the wicked antichristian kingdom.
8. Yet from this complicated source, this self-styled holy and
ever orthodox church, this kingdom of antichrist and mother of
Harlots, the reformed churches immediately proceeded, and took
with them, the same doctrines, sacraments, manner of worship,
discipline, and government, together with a vast increase of ill
nature against each other, and an unmerciful spirit of persecution,
as will yet more fully appear.
9. The first reformers, at the commencement of the Reforma-
tion, particularly Martin Luther, had no intention of separatinc
from what they called the holy Ro?na?i church, as has been ob-
served ; his only intention was to brand with infamy those emis-
saries who abused its authority. A reformation of the same cor-
rupt church of antichrist, was the highest that was even pretended.
10. But when Luther and his associates were expelled from
the communion of the church, projects were formed with the princes,
who thereupon withdrew the churches in their dominions from
under the papal hierarchy. These churches in all parts, were the
same which had, for many ages, professedly belonged to the jur-
isdiction of the popes of Rome.
11. And as it is strongly urged, by modern protestant writers,
th&t the first reformers, Luther, Calvin, and the rest who
merited that title, pleaded no divine commission; that they
taught no new religion, nor laid claim to any extraordinary vo-
cation ; it therefore, consequently and inevitably follows, that
these churches were, and continued to remain the churches of an-
tichrist ; and that they still retained the same religion, doctrines,
discipline, and government, which they had been taught by their
mother, the Mother of Harlots.
12. The church of antichrist, in truth, never had the doctrine,
discipline, and government of Christ in possession ; but had stolen
the words and institutions of the saints, and clothed herself with
their profession. Her doctrine was a monstrous abuse of sacred
words ; her discipline was written with the blood of the innocent ;
and her government was the grossest insult upon the rights and
consciences of mankind. As was the mother, so were her dausrh-
_ m * <J
ters ; they were open prostitutes, who could show no true descent,
but from the same Mother of harlots.
13. A late Protestant writer, speaking on the various states of
Christian the church, very justly says of the Reformation, "It remained
p. 33a°Sy' imperfect, which is mostly discernible, in the discipline and go-
vernment of the church, as likewise in morals. For, with the re-
formed, the true government of the church was changed, apostolic
discipline laid aside, and the whole authority engrossed by poli-
ticians ; so that, at present, the most grievous abuses are flagrant
B. VI. THE WORKS OF ANTICHRIST. 255
with respect to the vocation of ministers, the exercise of discipline, CIIAP- IV-
the use of sacraments, &c. "
14. Then surely, where churches were established without a
divine commission, and without any extraordinary vocation;
where apostolic discipline was laid aside ; and where the whole
authority was engrossed by earthly politicians, it is no marvel
that the most grievous abuses should become flagrant.
15. The church of Rome never was uniform in her doctrines ;
the monastic orders held sentiments directly contrary to each
other, about which they were perpetually quarrelling aud wrang-
ling ; yet all were held in a kind of subordinate union, so long as
they professed their subjection to one infallible head.
10. But, when the reformers cast off the pope's supremacy, and
still retained the same contentious doctrines, and the same sordid
thirst for pre-eminence, they had nothing to prevent them from
showing out their divisions to the utmost extent.
17. The Scriptures, which they adopted as the Word of God,
and only test of religious truth, suffered them not only to retain
their former respective and contradictory doctrines, but to wran-
gle and dispute about them in the most shameful and scandalous
manner, and to give the most positive judgment against each other,
followed by banishments, imprisonments, and even death. If
such is the only test of truth, it is indeed a strange mystery, and
mankind might forever content themselves to remain in darkness.
18. Through the whole progress of the Reformation, the same
doctrines and disputes were kept up, which for many ages had
existed in the Romish church, concerning The Eucharist — The
Trinity The Decrees of God — The Vicarious Atonement. — Im-
puted Righteousness, &c, &c, &c.
19. So that in all their divisions and controversies, *the con-
tending parties could appeal to the same fathers and general coun-
cils with the papists, aud alternately boast of having on their side,
the decrees of the council of Nice, of Chalcedon, or Constantino-
ple; or the ancient writings of Origen, St. Ambrose or St.
Augustin*
20. And while each made their appeal to their blind and dumb
test of truth for the orthodoxy of their sentiments, and labored
hard to determine what the faith of another should be, an impartial
spectator, might appeal to the judgment of common sense, to prove
that their systems and practices were all a perfect labyrinth of
senseless jargon.
21. The antichristian contentions and bitter animosities, that
were carried on, first by the Papists, and then by the Protestants,
concerning the manner in which the body and blood of Christ
* By the writings of this " bitter and bloody fanatic of Africa" (from whom
proceeded 232 pamphlets) did Luther, Oecolampadius, and other reformers, ex-
pound scripture. See Eccl. Researches, p. 102.
256 REFORMED CHURCHES ESTABLISHED BY B. VI.
chap. IV. were present in the eucharist, make up a great part of the history
of the Reformation.
22. These contentions, concerning the body and blood of Christ,
were carried on by the Protestants for many years, which finally
terminated in a grand division between the reforming parties, one
of which claimed Martin Luther, as the established founder
of their church, and the other John Calvin; and with all the
natural sagacity of their divines, and all the force of their earthly
princes and civil magistrates, they have never been able to heal
the division from that day to this.
23. It is well known by all who are acquainted with the con-
duct of the first reformers, tbat about this one particular doctrine,
(concerning Christ's body and blood,) there have been more con-
tentions, bitter animosities, and bloodshed, than about any other.
24. In order that these superstitious debates about their
eucharist, may appear in their true colors, it will not be improper
to take some notice of their rise and progress, which may serve
as a further evidence that the first reformers taught no new reli-
gion, but the same that was taught by the corrupt church of
Rome.
Ecci. His- 25. The controversy concerning the manner in ivhich the body
u ry,33o' an^ Mood of Christ were present in the eucharist, was first set on
foot by one Radbert, a monk. He, in a treatise, maintained, " that,
after the consecration of the bread and wine in the Lord's supper,
nothing remained of these symbols but the outward figure, under
which the body and blood of Christ were really and locally present ;
and that the body of Christ thus present — was the same body that
was born of the virgin, that suffered, upon the cross, and was
raised from the dead. "
26. This treatise was composed in the year 831, at a time
when universal history declares the church of Rome to have been
the most abominable sink of corruption, and her rites and cere-
monies* a motley spectacle of superstition, when, as protestant
writers say, the papal power is proved to be antichrist, and the
church the mother of abominations.
27 '. Until about the middle of the eleventh century, these jar-
ring opinions were proposed on both sides, unrestrained by the
ibid. p. 33i. despotic voice of authority. The emperor, Charles the Bald,
ordered Ratramn and Scohis to draw up a clear explication of
that important doctrine which Radbert seemed to have so cgre-
giously corrupted.
ibid. p. 332. 28. " It is remarkable (says Mosheim,) that in this controversy
each of the contending parties were almost as much divided among
themselves as they were at variance with their adversaries. "
ibid. p. 333. Scotus, from his philosophical genius, declared plainly that the
bread and wine were the signs and symbols of the absent body and
blood of Christ. The disputants mutually charged each other
B. VI. THE WORKS OP ANTICHRIST. 257
in their turns with the most odious doctrines : and so it went chap.iv.
on.
29. Berenger, a scholastic disputer, and afterwards archbishop Ecci. His-
of Angers, and a subtle genius, maintained publicly the doctrine i,-np.' 543^
of Scolus, in the year 1045, and opposed the doctrine of Radbert. 544-
No sooner was the doctrine of Scotus published by Berenger, than
it was opposed by certain doctors in France and Germany ; and
pope Leo IX, attacked it with vehemence and fury in the year
1050 ; and in two councils had the doctrine of Berenger con-
demned, and the book of Scotus, from which it was drawn, com-
mitted to the flames.
30. This example was followed by the council of Paris, and
one party, for a while, reduced the other to silence, by threat-
nings and deprivations of revenues, and fines, and synodical
decrees. But after the death of Leo IX, the flame of their ibid.p.545.
religious discord rekindled, and the popes strove in vain to put an
end to their antichristian debates.
31. Pope Innocent III, in the year 1215, had the honor of vol. iii. p.
introducing the term transubstantiation. That is, in the
eucharist there is a conversion (or change) of the whole substa?ice
of the bread and wine; so that, it is truly, really and sub- grounds of
stant.ially, the very body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus 24.
Christ.
32. The grand dispute, however, continued. For, although Ecci. His-
the pope had placed transubstantiation among the avowed iii. p'. 251.
doctrines of the church, yet the authority of this decree was
called in question by many. Some adopting the doctrine of
Berenger, considered the bread and wine as signs or symbols of
the absent body and blood of Christ. Others thought it sufli- Ibid-P 252-
cient to acknowledge, what was termed a real presence, and ex-
plained the manner of this presence quite otherwise than the
pope had defined it. Among these was one Pungens Asi?ms, a
subtle doctor of the university of Paris, who towards the close
of the thirteenth century, had the honor of substituting co?isub-
stantiation in the place of transubstantiation.
33. Thus we see where, and when, and in whom, that super-
stitious rite and pernicious error took its rise, invented by subtle
philosophers, and scholastic disputants, and brought forth from
the prolific womb of the Mother of Harlots, the sink of every
abomination and all sorts of wickedness.
34. Luther and his followers, it is said, rejected this mo?istrous vol. iv. p.
doctrine of the church of Rome with respect to the transub- 351a"d p'
stantiation, but were nevertheless of opinion, that the partakers
of the Lord's supper received, along with the bread and wine,
the real body and blood of Christ. "This, (says Mosheim,) in
their judgment, was a mystery, which they did not pretend to
explain."
258
REFORMED CHURCHES ESTABLISHED BY, &C. B. VI.
CHAP. IV.
35.
Keel. His-
tory, vol.
iv. p. 62,
note [z.j
Ibid. p. 300.
note [h.]
Ibid. p. C2
1 Cor. x.
16, 17.
But Maclaine says, "Luther was not so modest as Dr.
Mosheim here represents him. He pretended to explain his
doctrine of the real presence, absurd and contradictory as it was,
and uttered much senseless jargon on this subject. As in red
hot iron, said he, two distinct substances, viz : iron and fire,
are united, so is the body of Christ joined with the bread in the
eucharist." This, Maclaine very properly calls the " nonsensical
doctrine of consubstantiation" which was first invented by that
subtle popish doctor Pungens Asinus.
36. Wherein then lay the difference ? It can be found only in
a slight variation of high sounding words, calculated to impose
upon the credulity of a blinded multitude, and to add the greatest
number to the party who could use the most cunning deception,
in explaining the most pompous sounds of nonsense.
37. Carlostadt, who was Litther's colleague and companion,
and whose doctrine was afterwards confirmed by Zuingle, main-
tained, " That the body and blood of Christ was not really pre-
sent in the eucharist ; and that the bread and wine were no more
than external signs or symbols." This was the doctrine of
Scotus just mentioned, who had invented it by the special order
of the emperor, who was then under the dominion of antichrist :
for so the Protestants call the pope.
ibid. p. 03. 38. This opinion of Zuingle -was received by all the friends of
the Reformation in Switzerland, and by a number of its votaries
in Germany. But Mosheim says, "Luther maintained his doc-
trine, in relation to this point, with the utmost obstinacy ; and
hence arose, in the year 1524, a tedious and vehement controversy,
which terminated, at length, in a fatal division.''''
39. "Was Christ ever divided ? He was the bread of life that
came down from heaven, and the church, his true followers, by
their fellowship, union and communion, became that one bread,
and were partakers of that one body, and one blood ; which anti-
christ, with all his learning and philosophy, could never yet
discern.
B. VI. CONTROVERSIES BETWEEN, &C. 259
CHAPTER V.
VEHEMENT CONTROVERSIES BETWEEN THE FIRST
REFORMERS.
Those vehement controversies among the first reformers, which chap. v.
finally terminated in a fatal division between them, were the ef-
fects that naturally flowed from a corrupt ambition. Diotrepkes-
like, a sordid thirst for pre-eminence, and works directly contrary
to the precepts of the Gospel, were distinguishing characteristics
in those great ones upon whose jarring systems the reformed
churches were finally established.
2. Carlostadt, in the year 1522, carried on the Eeformation Ecci. His-
bv taking down some images, while Luther concealed himself Jor)% ™'-
from the rage of the pope, in the castle of Wartenberg. But no and 300.
sooner did he hear of it, than he flew from his retreat, and had
Carlostadt banished.
3. "It is evident (says Maclai?ie,) from several passages in ibid. p. 58.
the writings of Luther, that he was by no means averse to the I10te [tvl
use of images. But perhaps the true reason of Luther's dis-
pleasure at the proceedings of Carlostadt, was, that he could not
bear to see another crowned with the glory of executing a plan
which he had laid, and that he was ambitious of appearing the
principal, if not the only conductor of this great work. This is
not a mere conjecture. Luther himself has not taken the least
pains to conceal this instance of his ambition. "
4. But the violent rupture between these two first reformers, Ibid. p. 306.
who had been expelled from the communion of the church together,
first arose from a more important point. Carlostadt could not
believe as Luther did, that the body of Christ teas in the bread
of the eucharist as fire was in red-hot iron.
5. Such were the divisions and animosities among the reform-
ers, concerning the eucharist, that to terminate this controversy,
Philip, landgrave of Hesse, invited, in the year 1529, to a con- Ihid 73
ference at Marpurg, Luther and Zuingle, together with some of 74.
the more eminent doctors, who adhered to the respective parties
of these contending chiefs. Here they disputed during four days,
and their dissension still remained ; " nor could either of the con-
tending parties (says Mosheim,) be persuaded to abandon, or even
to modify, their opinion of that matter. "
6. Pitiful reformers these, who needed earthly princes to ex-
hort them to peace, and who would neither reform themselves, nor
suffer others to reform them ! Well said the Apostle, evil men and
seducers shall waxtoorse and tvorse, deceiving and being deceived.
and uole
[g]-
260 CONTROVERSIES BETWEEN B. VI.
chap. v. 7. " In the year 1544, Luther published his confession of faith
Ecci. His- m relation to the sacrament of the Lord's supper, which was di-'
tory, vol. rectly opposite to the doctrine of Zuingle and his followers.
The doctors of Zurich pleaded their cause publicly against the
Sazo?i reformer. " And so it went on.
ibM. p.356, 8. John Calvin,* professor of divinity at Geneva, proposed
an explication of the point in debate, and made use of all his credit
and authority among the Siviss in ord^r to obtain their assent to
it. He denied the doctrine of Christ's bodily presence in the
eucharist, and at the same time expressed it in almost the same
terms which the Lutherans employed in inculcating their doctrine
of Christ's real presence, and " talked of really eating by faith
the body, and drinking the blood of Christ. "
9. Wherein then is the difference between the doctrine of the
pope, and that of Luther and Calvin ? The pope says, that the
bread and wine are changed into the very substance of that same
body, flesh and blood of Christ that was born of a virgin, and cru-
cified of the Jews, so that it is no more bread.
10. Luther says, that the body of Christ is in, and with and
under the bread, as fire is in a red-hot iron ; so that both the sub-
stance of the bread, and of the body, flesh and blood of Christ,
are there present.
11. Calvin says, that the body of Christ is not really or cor-
porally there, and yet, that by faith, the body of Christ is really
eaten ! If therefore the first be monstrous, and the second non-
sensical, what is the third ? And how by faith or any other way,
could they really eat that which was not really there ?
12. Thus it appears that Calvin put the cap-stone upon the
fabric of superstition, when he persisted in denying Christ's real
presence, and yet would have it that his body was really eaten,
although it was really absent from the eater.
13. The truth is, they were blind guides, who knew nothing
about the body of Christ; and how could they describe it to
others ? But how to wrangle about the stolen words of the saints,
mixed up and confused with their own inventions, and how to hate
one another, they understood and practiced in a very extraordinary
manner, as their works abundantly testify.
14. The real presence of the body of Christ was not to be dis-
cerned by their natural sagacity, it was far beyond their human
comprehension. This they confess, and well they might, for their
systems have fixed him a local body, and a local heaven, far be-
yond the starry regions.
Ecci. His- ' 15. Mosheim says, '■'■Luther maintained, that the body and
vrp 351. blood of Christ were really present in the eucharist, and were ex-
hibited together with the bread and wine, though in a manner far
beyond human comprehension. "
* Calvin was a native of Noyon, in France.
J>. VI. THE FIRST REFORMERS. 261
16. Robert Barclay remarks, that Calvin, "after he hath CHAP- v-
much labored in overturning and refuting the two former opinions, Barclay's
plainly confesseth, that he knows not what to affirm instead of Ap?}£sy'
them. For after he hath spoken much, and at last concluded, Inst. lib. 4.
That the body of Christ is there, and that the sai?its must needs ™P-7-Sec-
partake thereof; at last he lands in these words: "But if it be
asked me, hoiv it is ? I shall not be ashamed to confess, that it is
a secret too high for me to comprehend in my spirit, or explain
in words. "
17. "A little before, in the same chapter,* he accuseth the *Sec. is.
schoolmen among the papists, In that they neither understand
nor explain to others, how Christ is in the eucharist : which
shortly after he confesseth himself he cannot do. " How justly
do those sayings apply to such. But why dost thou judge thy Rom. xiv.
brother? Or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? Thou 19- "• 2.V
vjhich teacheih another, tcacheth thou not. thyself? Thou hypo-
crite I first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then
shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote out of thy brothers
eye.
18. Yet these reformers, who neither understood what they \ Tim. i.e.
said, nor comprehended the things whereof they affirmed, must '
needs kindle the flames of discord, foment divisions, seditions, and
tumults among the multitude, and breathe the most virulent
spirit of persecution against all who would not receive their con-
tradictory systems of senseless jargon, which they themselves
could not understand.
19. Calvin, however, effected his purposes so far, that an act Ecci. His.
of uniformity took place, by which the churches of Geneva and j°ry' V^l
Zurich, declared their agreement concerning the doctrine of the
eucharist.
20. By the industry of Calvin, the schools and churches of Eng- ibid. p. 363,
land also, became the oracles of Calvinism, and Geneva was and 375°'
acknowledged as a sister church ; and the system there established
by Calvin was rendered the public rule of faith in England,
without any change in the form of their episcopal government.
Thus John Calvin became the principal and established founder
of the Calvinistic reformed churches in opposition to those of
Luther.
21. The flames of discord, however, between the Lutherans
and Calvinists, were perpetuated with greater violence and fury
than ever. They labored hard to bring about peace and establish
a union; but the difficulty was, it could not be effected upon the
sordid and antichristian principles of Diotrephes, who loved to
have the pre-eminence, and therefore, peace was not for them.
22. In the year 1552, Westphal, pastor at Hamburg, renewed ibid. p. 357,
with greater vehemence than ever, this deplorable controversy ; fh]!"0,e
he was an obstinate defender of the opinions of Luther. He pub-
262 CONTROVERSIES BETWEEN B. VI.
chap. v. Hshetl a book against the forementioned act of uniformity, which,
says Maclaine, " breathes the most virulent spirit ofpersecution."
Ecol.His- 23. "This (says Mosheim,) engaged Calvin to enter the lists
awiliote53' W^h Westphal, whom he treated with as little lenity and for-
[k.] bearance, as the rigid Lutheran had showed towards the Helvetic
churches. Calvin and Westphal had each their zealous defend-
ers and patrons ; hence the breach widened, the spirits were
heated, and the flame of controversy was kindled anew with
violence and fury." These disputes were augmented, and tumults
excited by the controversy concerning the Decrees of God, set on
foot by Calvin.
24. Is it possible, that such violent, furious and aspiring men
could have any relation to the peaceable, meek and humble fol-
lowers of Jesus Christ? Is it possible, that such ambitious
priests as were perpetually blowing the flames of discord, and
stirring up strifes and contentions among each other, could re-
form any thing for the better ? It could not be. From their own
confession, princes, earthly politicians, and civil rulers were
perpetually under the necessity of trying to put a stop to their
enormities.
EccLHis- 25. Augustus, elector of Saxony, and John William, duke
tory, vol. 0f Saxe- Weimar, summoned the most eminent doctors of both
the contending parties to meet at Altenburgk, in the year 1568,
that it might be seen' how far a reconciliation was possible. But
such were the furious and antichristian spirits of those reforming
parties, as blasted the fruits that were expected from this con-
ference,
ibid. p. 330, 26. The princes now undertook another method, and ordered
334-336. a jorm of doctrine to be composed, in order to terminate the
controversies which divided the Lutheran church, and to pre-
serve that church against the opinions of the Calvinists. This
form was begun as early as the year 1569, and was completed
by six doctors, about seven or eight years after,
ibid n 330 27. In the mean time Peucer, the son-in-law of Melancthon,
331. ' and other secret Calvinists in Saxony, were aiming to abolish
the doctrine of Luther, concerning the eucharist, and the per-
son of Christ, with a design to substitute the doctrine of Calvin
in its place, and published their opinions in the year 1571, which
produced more commotions and debates,
ibid. p. 330. 28. Augustus, elector of Saxony, first favored those secret
note [r.] p. Calvinists, who were the disciples of Melancthon; next he
[u.] and changed sides, and committed some of them to prison, and sent
m others into banishment, and engaged others, by the force of the
secular arm, to change their sentiments. Peucer, on account of
denying the corporal presence of Christ in the eucharist, was
cast into prison, where he lay in confinement ten years, accom-
panied with all possible circumstances of severity.
B. VI. THE FIRST REFORMERS. 263
29. In this manner the princes shook off the ignominious yoke CHAP- v-
of tyranny, according to the former exhortations and projects of
Luther. It would be endless, and indeed unnecessary, to enu-
merate all the cruelties which the Protestants practised against
each other. Severe laws and punishments, violent tumults and EccLffia-
seditions, imprisonments, banishments, and death, were the fruits i°fp.34i,
of that spirit by which both the contending parties of the Re- 342.
formation were actuated. Such works were carried on in
Germany, and Switzerland, where the Reformation first began,
and also in England and France, as will appear more fully
hereafter.
30. The form of doctrine just mentioned, which was intended ibw. p. 336
to promote peace, when finished was called the for ?n of concord ;
yet, like all the rest of antichrist's specious and deceitful glosses,
the title was found to be false, for it proved to be a form of dis-
cord, and a source of new tumults, and furnished matter for the
most violent dissensions and contests, even among those who in-
stituted it.
31. This form of concord, which condemned the sentiments of
the Calvinists, was received by the greatest part of the Lu-
therans, as one of the articles of their religion; and "hence ibid.p.3G0.
(says Mosheim,) arises an insuperable obstacle to all schemes of
reconciliation and concord."
32. Here then was effected that fatal division, upon which
the reformed churches of Lxdher and Calvin were established in
opposition to each other, after many years of furious contests and
antichristian works of violence, and this division still subsists
between these two Protestant parties, and each still claims rela-
tion to its first founder.
33. The form of concord, falsely so called, consists of tifo Ibid. p. 335.
•parts. "In the first (says Maclaine,) is contained a system of
doctrine drawn up according to the fancy of the six doctors, "
who had received their orders from, and were under the protec-
tion of the princes ; for those earthly princes were clothed with j^e p- 27S
the dignity of ecclesiastical, as well as civil supremacy, accord- [f.]
ing to the established principles of the Pteformation.
34. "In the second is exhibited one of the strongest instances
of that persecuting and tyrannical spirit, which the Protestants
complained of in the church of Rome, even a formal condemna-
tion of all those who differed from these six doctors."
35. " This condemnation branded with the denomination of
heretics, and excluded from the communion of the church, all
Christians, of all nations, who refused to subscribe these doc-
trines. More particularly, in Germany, the terrors of the sword
were solicited against these pretended heretics, as may be seen
in the famous testament of Brentius."
36. A modern Protestant divine, speaking concerning the
264
CONTROVERSIES BETWEEN
B. VI.
CHAP. V.
Davics ser-
mons, vol.
iii. p 403.
Ser. 62.
Ibid. p. 414.
Ser. b'3.
Ibid. p. 416.
Doddr. in
Loc. New-
ton on
Proph. Diss
xiv. Hist,
of Redemp.
p. 431.
American French war, and referring to the war of the beast
against the Lamb, spoken of in the book of Revelation, says,
"Now who can tell, but the present war is the commencement
of this grand decisive conflict between the Lamb and the least,
that is, between the Protestant and Popish powers?"
37. The same divine, in a succeeding sermon to the militia,
makes the following remarkable profession of the Protestant
religion : " Follow peace with all men, is one of the principal
precepts of our holy religion. And the great Prince of Peace
has solemnly pronounced, Blessed are the peacemakers.'1'' "But
what follows next? The sound of "wars and fightings."
Plausible reasonings. "The God of peace proclaims 'To
arms ! ' Blessed is the brave soldier ! Cursed is he that Iteepeth
back his sword from blood!"
38. This may serve as a specimen of the whole Protestant
religion from beginning to end. Alluring names and titles,
co??fessio?is of faith, and forms of concord, manifestly false ;
specious professions of the religion of the Prince of Peace, the
holy religion of the peaceable Lamb ; all contradicted by prac-
tice, maintained by violence, and mingled with blood.
39. Children naturally follow the example of their parents in
faith and practice. It is truly painful to a feeling mind to see
the contradictory professions of Protestant divines, so called.
While on one page of their works you see their plausible pro-
fessions of the pure, the peaceable, the holy, the meek and mer-
ciful Gospel of the Lamb of God, with a solemn declaration that
bloodshed is not the pattern for imitation under the Gospel ; on
the next you may see the "important duty of shedding human
blood, upon the penalty of falling under the tremendous curse of
God." Such is the deceitfulness and contradiction of a false
religion.
40. The Protestants have stated, and that very justly, that
the papal power, in being supported by a regular clergy and
secular princes, was according to prophetic language, a beast.
Names and titles without matters of fact to support them, are
shadows without substance.
,41- It was the beastly and tyrannical conduct of Constantine
and his successors which supported the Catholic power, arising
out of the commotions of the peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues, that constituted the beast that came up out of the
sea : and it was the cruelty and insatiable thirst for blood, that
constituted the same a scarlet colored (or bloody) beast under
the papal power.
42. But there was another beast, which came up out of the
earth. Then, as the papal power constituted a beast, in being
supported by the unnatural combination of the regular clergy and
secular principles ; so the Protestant power as evidently consti-
B. VI. PARTICULAR CHANGES EFFECTED, &C. 265
tuted this beast, in being supported by the like unnatural combina- chap. vi.
tion of secular princes and a regular clergy.
43. The Reformation was divided into two principal and con-
tending powers, each professing the pure and peaceable Gospel of
the Lamb of God, and supported their cause by shedding blood;
and, while they practised imprisonments, banishments, and putting
men to death for their sentiments, and presented the terrors of
the sword against those who differed from them, wherein did they
differ from the Papists ?
44. And what, then, was the Protestant power, by which they
established their divided and contentious churches, but a fulfil-
ment of that prophecy, And I beheld another beast coming up Rev. xiii.
out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he u> 12-
spake as a dragon? And he exercised all the power of the first
beast.
f
CHAPTER VI.
PARTICULAR CHANGES EFFECTED BY THE REFORMATION.
The first change of importance which the Protestant reformers
established, was that which went to supply the office of the pope ;
without which the Reformation must have appeared essentially
deficient.
2. Universal experience and observation had confirmed the ne-
cessity of a common head of influence. A body without a head
is a monster in nature, and no less so in civil or religious society.
The titles, offices, and power of the pope, or universal father,
were never called in question ; but it was professedly for the per-
version of the sacred office, the abuse of power, and the false ap-
plication of titles, that the reformers protested against, and sepa-
rated from the church of Rome.
3. Doubtless all parties agreed that the church ought to have
a Lord God, a God on earth, & judge of all controversies, &c,
but the Protestants denied that this dignity belonged to the
bishop of Rome; it therefore remained for them to point out, to
whom it did belong.
4. It must be a matter of the utmost importance, for a nation
to change their God. The high pretensions of the Roman pontiff,
as the vicegerent o* Christ on earth, were not to be supplanted
18
266
PARTICULAR CHANGES EFFECTED
B. VI.
CHAP. VI.
Eccl. Re.
searches,
p. 538.
"by trifles. He had too long bewitched the people, giving out
that himself was some great one, and had gained too deep an in-
terest in the faith of the multitude, to be rivalled, at once, by a
monk or a friar.
5. The powerful and superstitious empire had, for ages, been
accustomed to receive the word of God, as they supposed, from
their 'prime bishop, their apostolic vicar, by whom kings reigned,
and princes decreed judgment; of course, when his authority was
disannulled by men of an inferior rank, it behooved them to furnish
the people with the true judge of all controversies, the true God
on earth, who should deliver the true word instead of the old false
one.
6. And what could the natural sagacity of man devise, so
suitable for the purpose as those sacred, and adorable words,
which the most ancient Catholic churches received from the pens
of the learned/a^ers, and which Augustin and other great saints
denominated the canon of Scripture?*
7. When the Reformation commenced, it is said, "the igno-
rance of the priests was extreme. Numbers could not read — and
the very best seldom saw the bible. Many doctors of the Sorbonne
declared, and confirmed it by an oath, that though they were
above fifty years of age, yet they had never known what a New
Testament was."
8. "Luther never saw a bible till after he was twenty-one
years of age, and had taken a degree in arts. Carlostadt had
been a doctor of divinity eight years before he read the Scriptures."
Now when these very learned and sagacious doctors had found
those inestimable records of truth, it is not easy to imagine how
great a field of reformation they would naturally present to view,
in their conflicting circumstances.
9. And what could there be within the comprehension of human
reason, that might so justly fill the papal chair, as that which
both Papists and Protestants called the word of God. This most
plausible rival of the Roman pontiff did not long elude the notice
of the reformers ; therefore their appealing to a general council,
was but a mere evasion to serve their purpose, for a time; their
* The Catholic Fathers were the first who had the misguided confidence to
change, and corrupt, and curtail the Scriptures, in order to satisfy their sordid
thirst for honor and dominion, they made use of such of the sacred writings as
were likely to support them in their carnal reasonings and vain philosophy, and
rejected the rest, which have perished under their usurped dominion The Fathers
themselves declare, That they wrote not ichat they found, but irhat they under-
stood— and some they blotted out, fearing lest heretics should have abused it.
" Our Fathers also declare, (siys Barclay) That whole verses vcere taken out of
Mark, because of the Manicheans. But Luther far surpassed the zeal and con-
fidence of his fathers, in changing and corrupting every thing sacred. In order
to maintain his inconsistent and pernicious solijidian system of Imputed Righte-
ousness, he rejected the whole epistle of James, and [called it "an epistle of
straw." See the beginning of Luther's Works, Barclay's Ap. p. 80, 81.
Armin. Mag. vol. ii. p. 283.
B. VI. BY THE REFORMATION. 267
CHAP. VI.
grand appeal is, more emphatically, said to have been, to the
word of God.
10. And as the word of the pope had been heretofore respected
as the infallible ivord of God, and he from whom this word came,
was called another God on earth ; in order therefore, to stand
npon equal ground with the Papists, the Protestants must re-
ceive the canon of Scripture as another God upon earth, seeing
that from it they receive the infallible word of God, and must
ascribe to their * Bible, every office and title which the Papists
ascribe to their prime bishop.
11. The Scriptures had all along been preserved in the Catholic
church, according to the edition formed in the Alexandrian school,
and never, as yet, had claimed any authority, but as they were
expounded and applied by those who were called church guides ;
but in the hands of the reformers, they were destined to a place
and a name above every name in heaven or upon earth, for the
purpose of exalting the Protestant priesthood above all that had
gone before them, the pope himself not excepted.
12. So important an office could never have been assigned to
a book, which had for hundreds of years been in use, and at the
discretion of men, without its being very much reformed; hence
the Scriptures had to undergo a new translation, which Luther EccLffia-
eommenced in. the year 1521, and being afterwards assisted by "'Vim.
Aurogallus, a profane author, it was but a little while before all
the Protestant states were furnished with this new vicar of St.
Peter, this infallible judge of all controversies.
13. But whether a translation of the Scriptures, by an apostate
monk, and a profane writer, could claim any greater authority
than the former head of the Catholic church, any person of sense
may judge from the following assertions of bishop Challoner.
14. He affirms that, " the first Protestants corrupted the Grounds of
Scriptures, in all their translations, to make it chime with their Cath- Do<:'
errors" — that "they are forced to appeal to a tribunal, at which
it is not possible that any sectary should ever be condemned.
Such a tribunal is the Scripture, interpreted, not by church guides,
but by every one's own private judgment ; for this is in effect
making every one's private judgment the supreme judge, both of
the Scriptures, and all controversies in religion, and authorizing
him to prefer his own whimsies before the judgment of the whole
church."
15. Here, then, stands the controversy between the Papists and
Protestants ; the latter, upon the authority of the word of God,
as they say, anathematize the whole popish hierarchy, and their
God, the pope, as antichrist, and the mother of harlots, and every
thing abominable and reprobate ; while on the other hand, the
living God of the Papists, with his old Rhemish and Douay
translations of the Scriptures in his hand, rejects the reformers.
268
PARTICULAR CHANGES EFFECTED
B. VI.
CHAP. VI.
Eccl. His-
lorv, vol.
ii p. 90.
note []<],
p. Ill &
p. 475.
* Scotch
Confes.
Art. xx.
and their translation, and condemns them and their whole pos-
terity, as an endless spawn of heretics. And who is to be the in-
fallible judge between them?
16. The Protestants sneer at the infallibility of the pope, when
they find two of these earthly Gods consecrated at once, by two
jarring factions, or when papal decrees stand in direct opposition
to each other. And with no less propriety do the Papists sneer
at the pretended infallibility of the Protestant translation of the
Scriptures, when they see this infallible judge formed and re-
formed into a thousand shapes, with as many supplies, mistrans-
lations, notes, references, comments, paraphrases, and other ap-
pendages, as the doctors, with their natural sagacity, think proper
to put into it.
17. But more especially is their mirth excited to see the Pro-
testants divided into a thousand parties, no two of them perfectly
agreed, ever at war ; and yet each goes into the combat with his
infallible judge, his eternal word of God, in his hand or in his
pocket.
18. It will be proper here to notice some of the first exploits
of this infallible judge, or what they are pleased to call, " The
voice of our only God,"* — and sei how he arose to so high a de-
gree of credit among the kings and priests of the reforming
party.
19. King Henry VIII. had taken to wife, Catharine of
Arragon, his brother's widow, the mother of Mary, afterwards
queen ; but growing weary of so aged a consort, he applied to
the pope for a divorce, which the reverend father refused to grant.
Henry was much perplexed, and hearing of the great wisdom of
bishop Granmer, he sent for him to help him out of the difficulty.
20. Cranmer had luckily become acquainted with Luther's
vjord of God, and by its power, in the hands of the dexterous
bishop, Henry was released from Catharine, and launched into
a sea of licentious pleasure ; Cranmer had him also created su-
preme head of the church of England, and himself lord-archbishop
of Canterbury. Cranmer, after his second marriage, had the
honor of martyrdom conferred on him by the Protestants, having
been put to death in the reign of queen Mary, by the Papists,
for what they accounted the most impious acts of wickedness.
21. Cranmer, on his trial, being accused of perjury, retorted
the same charge upon his judge, the bishop of Gloucester. " And
you, for your part, my lord, are perjured, for you sit judge for
the pope, and yet you did receive your bishopric from the
king, you have taken an oath to be adversary to the realm."
To which his lord and his judge replied : " You are the cause
that I did forsake the pope, and did swear that he ought not to
be supreme head, and gave to king Henry VIII. that he ought
to be, and this you made me do."
33. VI. BY THE REFORMATION. 269
22. Cranmer retorted: "You report me ill, and say not the chap. vi.
truth, and I will prove it here before you all. The truth is, that Wright's
my predecessor, arch-bishop Warham gave the supremacy to Mariyrolo-
king Henry the eighth, and said that he ought to have it before p. '/oa.
the bishop of Rome, and that God's word would agree therewith.
And upon the same was there sent to both the universities of
Oxford and Cambridge, to know what the word of God would
do touching the supremacy, and it was reasoned upon, and
argued at length. So at the last both the universities agreed,
and set to their seals, and sent to king Henry the eighth, to the
court, that he ought to be supreme head, and not the pope."
23. Thus the Protestant icord of God introduced the Reforma-
tion into England. But could there have been a more pre-
sumptuous abuse of the name of God and of his word, than to be
used by such licentious and deceitful workers, as a pretext for
carrying on their political intrigues ? How glaringly do they ex-
pose their deceitful and false foundation, when they acknowledge
that they had to send to their universities, to know what the
word of God would do !
24. And after they had "reasoned upon it, and ai-gued at
length," and found which side of the argument had the most
votes, then they could impiously set to their seal what the word
of God would do ! This is an exact picture of the whole Protes-
tant government, from first to last; and upon this plan their
reformations have come down, with an uninterrupted career, to
the present day: their word of God still allowing them to do
just what they please.
25. Whoever had natural sagacity enough to propose a subject,
and influence enough to engage the attention of the priest, after
their ungodly reasoning upon it, and arguing at length, could
presumptuously say, they had found what the word of God would
do in that matter ! Hence every thing sacred has been dtedistor
into the last degree of confusion, by their reforming power. A
few of the most material points, however, will be sufficient to
show the absolute deception of all the rest.
270
THE CROSS OF CHRIST REJECTED
B. VI.
CHAP.
VII.
♦See the
39 articles.
Art 32.
Scot. Prot.
Confes.
Art. xviii.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CROSS OF CHRIST REJECTED BY THE PROTESTANT
REFORMERS.
Nothing could furnish the Protestant doctors with a more
popular objection against the pope, than his universal law con-
cerning the celibacy of the clergy, and the corruption of manners
which flowed from that papal establishment.
2. Though this law recognized the holy example of Christ
Jesus and his Apostles, and was thereby intended to check the
licentiousness of the priesthood, and to serve as an example of
pious restraint to the extravagant corruptions of the multitude ;
yet, for want of the real spirit of Christ, it became an intoler-
able yoke of bondage ; and therefore, to get clear of the incon-
sistency of professing to follow Christ, and not doing it, the
reformers reuounced every institution that had the least appear-
ance of that evangelical purity.
3. And after reasoning upon it, and arguing the matter at
length, in their carnal libertine sense, they set to their seal that
it was more consistent to follow the carnal Corinthians openly,
than to pretend to be followers of St. Paul, while living in the
gratification of their lusts. In short, that it was better for them
to marry than to burii; and this has been their universal law
and practice ever since, in opposition to the decree of Gregory
and their mother church*
4. In this debate, the Protestant priesthood charge their
ancestors, the popish clergy, with the vilest hypocrisy, and main-
tain that they are the very ones who " departed from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking-
lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot
iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats ;"
that they are the false Christs and false prophets, the wolves in
sheep's clothing, the dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
hypocritical liars, and all the base characters spoken of in the
New Testament : In fine, that the papal hierarchy is the " horri-
ble harlot, the kirk malignant.''''
5. On the other hand, the popish doctors, who, from a pre-
tended Apostolic succession, antiquity, and universal authority,
claim the pre-eminence, after very plausibly denying that they
forbid to marry, and showing that marriage is held in the highest
respect by the church of Rome, as one of her seven sacraments,
"a conjunction made and sanctified by Grod himself," retort
back upon the reformers, the same charge of apostasy, with all
its base and licentious fruits.
B. VI. BY PROTESTANT REFORMERS. 271
6. And indeed, unless the Protestants can prove that dogs and chap.
wolves can beget harmless sheep, and the true Christ spring out ■ —
of a false one, and chaste daughters from a mother of harlots, they
have no reason to refuse taking to themselves every base and
abominable character which they have given the popish doctors,
by whom they were consecrated.
7. Therefore it must be with the utmost propriety, even upon
their own principles, that they are charged, by the Papists, with
producing an endless spawn of heresies. Bishop Taylor himself
acknowledges in favor of the church of Borne, "the piety and
the austerity of their religious orders of men and women. The
single-life of their priests and bishops. All which (says Chal-
lo?ier,) the good natured Beformation has laid aside."
8. How far the first reformers renounced both law and gospel,
and every obligation professedly held sacred by their mother
church, in relation to chastity, and how wide a door they opened
for licentiousness, is sufficiently manifest from their own his-
tories.
9. When Dr. Carlostadt broke his solemn oath of perpetual
continence which he had made to God, what kind of a reforming
spirit did Luther manifest? In his letter to Amsdorf he very
plainly shows what his hypocritical soul was most intent on pro- tory.Voi.
moting, as appears from the following words: " The nuptials of ™oZ'i?\'
Carlostadt please me wonderfully : I have known the girl : The
Lord strengthen him in the good example of restraining and
lessening popish lust.'1''*
10. Here this excommunicated monk, let loose from his
monastic restraint, expresses his wonderful pleasure at the good
example of his companion. And what was it? Surely not the
good example of Jesus Christ, nor any of his Apostles, for they
knew neither girl nor woman after the flesh. But the religious
pretext was, that his marriage had a tendency to restrain or
lessen his popish lust ; yet how grossly did he err even in this.
11. Lust is lust, and under whatever ceremony or pretext it is
gratified, its nature is not altered, restrained nor diminished
thereby ; nor is there any difference between the Papist and the
Protestant, the monk and the married bishop, as to their motive,
or first moving cause; neither have they but one example to
follow, and that is the example of their first father Adam.
12. But as Carlostadt put off his veil of popish hypocrisy, and
made a regular and bold provision for the works of the flesh, it
* The original extract of this letter, in Luther's own words, runs thus : " Car-
lostadii nuptite mire placent : novi puellam : comfortet eum Dominus in bonum
exemplum inhibendoe et minuendas papistical libidinis." Shameful as it may ap-
pear, Luther's expression ' inhibendae &c ," seems plainly to imply that his
satisfaction arose from the consideration that his friend had obtained a decent de-
pository for his popish lust, by which means he could dispose of it with more con-
venience, and less remorse of conscience than formerly.
272 THE CROSS OF CHRIST REJECTED. B. VI.
CHAP. was counted a good example, and Luther himself soon after fol-
' lowed it. He married a nun whose name was Catharine a Bora,
whereby both of them broke their solemn vows of continency
which they had made before God.
Mai. iii. c. 13. Well said the Lord, by the prophet Malachi : i" will come
near to you to judgment ; and I will be a swift witness against
the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false
swearers. Thus antichrist began his work by Simon and other
sorcerers, continued it by an endless train of adulterers, and it
remained to be completed by perjured persons, or false swearers.
Grounds of 14. Bishop Challoner, after stating Luther's general character,
cam. Doc. very properly adds: "But what was the most scandalous in a
pretended restorer of the purity of religion, was his marrying a
nun, after the most solemn vows, by which both he and she had
consecrated themselves to God, in the state of perpetual conti-
nency. In which he was imitated by a great part of the first re-
formed ministers."
History of 15. "Even his most devoted followers (says Dr. Robertson)
voiarlrV thought this step indecent, at a time when his country was
340. involved in so many calamities ; while his enemies never men-
tioned it with any softer appellation than that of incestuous or
profane."
16. Some might try to excuse Luther, by pleading his former
ignorance, while under the reign of superstition ; however, that
can furnish but a mean excuse, while they represent him as a
man of such uncommon parts. Had he been forced to take such
a vow, it might have materially altered the case, but he had done
it deliberately, from his own free choice, and that from the most
solemn considerations,
ibid. p. 109. 17. " The death of a companion killed by lightning at his side
in a violent thunder-storm, made such an impression on his mind,
as co-operated with his natural temper, in inducing him to retire
into a convent of Augustinian friars, where, without suffering the
entreaties of his parents to divert him from what he thought his
duty to God, he assumed the habit of that order." So says Dr.
Robertson.
18. And is a popish vow or solemn oath so far inferior to the
oath of a Protestant, that, for the gratification of Protestant lust,
it can be broken with impunity ? Where is that court of justice
on earth that would make such a distinction, and would not deem
it perjury in one as much as the other, to violate what they had
solemnly confirmed by an oath ? or that would not, forever after,
reject the testimony of such a false swearer?
19. Yet this same perjured Luther was not only believed as a
translator of the sacred Scriptures, but in the most momentous
points of doctrine, his creeds were adopted as rules of faith; and
he was also practically followed in his example of rejecting con-
B. VI.
BY PROTESTANT REFORMERS.
273
tinency and true gospel purity as the doctrine of devils, and of
reforming the old works of the flesh under the false pretext of an
ordinance of God, and that without regarding even so much as
the restrictions which the law of Moses had laid on the corrupt
and beastly passions of man.
20. " John Calvin was originally designed for the church,
and had actually obtained a benefice;" of course he must have
come under the common oath of continency ; yet it seems that he
was not subject even to the law which saith concerning the high
priest among his brethren, that a widow shall he not take, but
he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
21. Nor was he subject to the example of Jesus Christ, nor to
his own solemn oath; for " he married the widow of an anabap-
tist at Strasburg." And thus, according to the law, he profaned
his seed in the highest degree, by mixing with a people who were
condemned, both by Papists and Protestants, as heretics, and
counted by Luther himself, no better than mad dogs.
22. Theodore Beza, Calvin's companion and successor, con-
tributed not a little to this part of the Reformation, both by his
practice, and his writings. Robinson says that, thirteen years
after his conversion, "he published a collection of Latin poems,
the most lascivious that can be imagined. There is one epigram
which, in licentiousness, surpasses any thing that the most un-
guarded debauchees have ever ventured to offer to the public
eye
CHAP.
VII.
>>#
23.
Eccl. His.
tory, vol.
iv. p. 87.
note [a].
Lev. xxi.
13, 14.
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 341.
Ibid. p. 344.
Prom such reforming priests we may descend to the
princes, and see how far their popish lusts were restrained or
lessened by their reformed gospel. It has been observed that,
Henry the eighth obtained a divorce from Catharine, his brother's
old widow, whereupon he married Anne Boleyn, a woman of
respectable family and connexions.
24. Her he afterwards beheaded under pretence of adultery,
though there appears no proof of her guilt. t Next he married
Jane Seymour, who died in child-bed. Again, he married Anne
of Cleves, whom he also divorced, and married Katharine How-
ard. She was beheaded. And his sixth and last wife was
Katharine Parr.
25. Such were the fruits of that good example which the first
reformers set their followers, with which Luther was so wonder-
fully pleased, and which was sanctioned by their universities,
who set to their seal that this same Henry should be the su-
Ilume's
History of
Eng.
* Beza's Candida was not his wife, for his wife was never with child, and
there are some verses on the pregnancy of Candida in the poems. — Robinson's
Eccl. Researches, p. 344.
f Henry had been for some time enamoured with Jane Seymour, and his marry-
ing her the next day after the execution of his queen, is considered as a presump-
tive evidence, not only of the queen's innocerjee, but of the cause which led to her
execution.
274
THE CROSS OF CHRIST REJECTED, &C. B. VI.
CHAP.
VII.
Cohbett's.
p. 46. v.
103.
preme head of the Church, instead of the Pope ; and such was
the example of lawless lust and butchery, which this Protestant
supreme head openly manifested, which was never equalled by
any who supported the title before him.
26. This does not complete the portrait of the enormous ty-
rannical cruelty of this great and bloody reformer. It is generally
known (says Blackwood) that Henry the VIII. put seventy-two
thousand persons of all religious persuasions to death, on the scaf-
fold, during his siugle reign ! ! This implacable tyrant would
admit of no nonconformity to his sentiments ; although he was first
a zealous Catholic, then a Protestant, and also successively
espoused the cause of the different parties, into which they were
split. Yet, all who differed from him, and would not submit
their own judgment to his dictation, let him be then of whatever
persuasion, were doomed to death.
27. Can the human mind conceive of a more horrid, cruel and
blood-stained character, than this first founder and supreme head
of the Protestant national Church of England? These horrid
butcheries of Henry are confirmed by Cobbett, who says:
"Amongst his tenets, there were such as neither Catholics nor
Protestants could, consistently with their creeds, adopt. He
therefore sent both to the stake, and, in order to add mental pangs
to those of the body, he dragged them to the fire on the same
hurdle, tied together in pairs, back to back, each pair containing
a Catholic and a Protestant.
28. " Was this the way that St. Austin and St. Patric pro-
pagated their religions ? Yet, such is the malignity of Burnet
and of many, many others called Protestant " divines," that they
apologize for, if they do not absolutely applaud this execrable
tyrant, at the very moment that they are compelled to confess
that he soaked the earth with Protestant blood, and filled the air
with the fumes of their roasting flesh ! ! "
B. VI. PROTESTANT DOCTRINES, &C. 295
CHAPTER VIII.
PROTESTANT DOCTRINES CONCERNING MARRIAGE AND
CONTINENCE.
In tracing the effects of the Reformation in England, we find chap.
bishop Crammer making a conspicuous appearance. This ambi- vtiL
tious primate, instead of promoting purity and truth, began his
reforming career by paving the way for a flood of licentiousness,
injustice, and corruption. When his crimes are considered, we
need not wonder that the Papists accused him with treason and
perjury, in giving the supremacy to such a profane and wicked
prince as Henry VIII. and for his hypocritical and treacherous
conduct in other respects.
2. This great reformer, on his trial, was charged by Martin, a
Popish doctor, that, "being yet free, and before he entered into
holy orders, he married one Joan Black, or Brown, of Cambridge.
That he married there one Joan, he granted. That after the
death of the aforesaid wife, he entered into holy orders, and
after that was made archbishop by the pope."
3. " That he, being in holy orders, married another woman as
his second wife, named Anne, and so was twice married. That
in the time of king Henry VIII, he kept the said wife secretly,
and had children by her.* Hereto he also granted, affirming
that it was better for him to have his own, than to do like other
priests, holding and keeping other men's wives."
4. Martin. "Did you swear obedience to the see of Rome?"
Cranmer. "Indeed I did once swear unto the same. Martin.
" Yea, that you did twice, as appeareth from records and writings
here ready to be showed. At your consecration you took two
solemn oaths for your due obedience to be given to the see of
Rome, to become a true preacher or pastor of his flock ; yet, con-
trary to your oath and allegiance, for unity, you have sowed dis-
cord; for chastity, marriage and adultery; for obedience, con-
tention; and for faith, you have been the author of all mischief."
5. " What doctrine taught you when you condemned Lambert,
the sacramentary, in the king's presence at Whitehall ?"
Cranmer. "I maintained then the Papist doctrine." Martin.
" Then from a Lutheran you became a Zuinglian — and for the
same heresy, you will help to burn Lambert, the sacramentary,
which you now call the Catholic faith and God's word."
*The criminality of this charge is founded on the violation of his oath of con-
tinency, which he had taken as an ecclesiastic; but this reforming archbishop
manifested on this as well as on other occasions, that the violation of a solemn
oath was but a small matter with him.
276 PROTESTANT DOCTRINES B. VI.
CvluP' ^' ^rom these short hints it is easy to perceive, who bore the
highest marks of antichrist, and most evidently filled the character
of those entire apostates from the faith and practice of Christ,
spoken of in the Scriptures. Therefore, Martin, with the highest
Catholic authority, addresses Cranmer, as follows.
7. " Christ foretold there should come against his Church,
ravening wolves, and false apostles. But how shall we know
them ? Why, Christ teacheth us, saying, ' By their fruits ye
shall know them. What are their fruits ? St. Paul declareth,
after the flesh they walk in concupiscence, and uncleanness, they
contemn power.' "
8 "Again: in the latter days there shall be perilous times.
Then shall there he men loving themselves, covetous, proud,
disobedient to parents, treason-workers. Whether these be not
the fruits of your gospel, I refer to this audience ; whether the
said gospel began not with perjury, proceeded with adultery, and
ended in conspiracy."
9. So much then have the Protestants gained, by endeavoring
to prove that the Papists forbid to marry, in order that they
might be released from every obligation to chastity, and take full
liberty in their incestuojus and beastly works; so that, in this
respect, they evidently reformed from bad to worse.
10. Likewise their charging the pope with forbidding to marry
in order to excuse themselves, will be but weakly supported, if
*See pod- we consider that their translation of 1 Tim. iv. 1, 2, 3, is, ac-
Loc6' m cording to their own critics, much to be disputed.*
11. But, admitting their translation to be never so correct, it
is a question whether the Papists, from a comparison of their
♦SeeRonr doctrines with those of the Protestants on that subject, have not
the greatest right to charge the latter with forbidding to marry,
according to the Apostle's use of the term.*
12. It is most certain that the people of God always did con-
sider marriage to be something very different from what the lost
and corrupt nations of the earth conceived it to be ; then, from
such a plain distinction, the question would naturally arise,
whether those apostates in the latter times would forbid what was
called marriage by the people of God, or that which went under
that name among the nations of the earth ; and no one need to
doubt that the Apostle meant they would forbid marriage in its
true order and sense, and not in the corrupt sense of the world:
for the ivorld loveth its own, and apostates love the same.
13. Although it is evident enough that the papal hierarchy
did, by law, oblige their clergy to abstain from marriage, ac-
cording to the sense in which the Gentiles consider marriage,
which is a plain evidence that their institution of celibacy was a
spurious institution ; yet there is not the smallest proof that they
forbade marriace, as it was instituted in the innocent state of
vii. 4. and
2 Cor. xi. 2.
B. VI.
CONCERNING CONTINENCE.
277
man, nor (according to their creeds) did they forbid it as it was
considered by the followers of Christ, relative to their spiritual
union in the Lord, and with one another. This is manifest from
the Grounds of the Catholic Doctrine, as follows.
14. " Q. When was matrimony instituted ? Ans. It was first
instituted by God Almighty in Paradise, between our first
parents ; and this institution was confirmed by Christ in the new
law, Matt. xix. 4, 5, 6. where he concludes, What God hath
joined together, let not man put asunder."
15. " Q. How do you prove that matrimony is a sacrament?
Ans. Because it is a conjunction made and sanctified by God
himself, and not to be dissolved by any power of man, as being
a sacred sign, or mysterious representation of the indissoluble
union of Christ and his Church. Eph. v. 31, 32. For this
cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great
mystery, (/xu^piov, a sacrament,'''') &c.
16. Now in the Protestant articles of faith it is expressly
asserted to the contrary. "Matrimony, &c, are not to be
counted for sacraments, for that they have not any visible sign
or ceremony ordained of God." With this the Protestant con-
fessions universally agree. They scoff at the popish sacrament
of marriage, and call it, "a bastard sacrament," and affirm that
marriage is no sacrament or sacred rite at all, but equally per-
tains to all sorts of people who are able with judgment to give
their consent.
17. The Jews' bible or book was very different from a booh
that was common among all sorts of people, and as different was
their law of marriage, from marriage so called among the profane
Gentiles. The same distinction will hold good between that
marriage which the followers of Christ called a mystery, and
that civil contract which was common among all sorts.
18. Then if the Protestants did, in any sense, impede, hinder,
prohibit or forbid such marriage as God instituted in Paradise,
or prescribed by the ministry of angels to the Jews, or that in-
nocent, pure, and chaste union in Christ, which implies a state
of continency, and is spiritually called a marriage, or being
married in the Lord, then it evidently follows, that they are the
ones who forbid to marry, in a more important sense than the
Papists.
19. As far as both the Papists and Protestants were unani-
mous in persecuting those who bore a practical testimony con-
cerning the faith of Christ, and the spiritual union of the saints,
so far they jointly fill up the character of those apostates of the
latter times spoken of by the Apostle.
20. It is evident, from the Scriptures of truth that this spiritual
union in Christ, and in his Church, is the last marriage that was
CHAP.
VIII.
Grounds of
C. Doc. p.
23.
Gr. muste-
rion.
xx.xix Ar-
ticles.
National
Covenant.
Conf. of
Faith.
278
PROTESTANT DOCTRINES
B. VI.
CHAP.
VIII.
Geneva
Conf. p.
21 29
1st Book of
Dis, Doc.
1st.
* Churches,
Confes.
.Sec. iv.
Book of
Coin mon
Prayer.
sanctioned of God ; and under that name it was held as the most
sacred institution, in support of which thousands in the primitive
Church were willing to be tortured to death ; and as it was the
last order or kind of marriage which was sanctioned by Almighty-
God, it was this that was in a peculiar manner, forbidden by the
apostates of later times.
21. The Geneva and Scotch confessions of faith pointedly
maintain, that "A politic magistrate belongs to the church; to
whom (say they) it appertaineth to root out all doctrines of
devils and men, (among which are ranked) free-will voios of
single life, SfC. The punishment whereof, although God often-
times deferreth in this life, yet, after the general resurrection,
when our souls and bodies rise again to immortality, they shall
be damned to unquenchable fire."
22. Among other things which they say are to be utterly sup-
pressed, and abolished, are, vows of chastity, and difference of
meats for conscience sake, and affirm that "All maintainors of
such abominations should be punished with the civil sword."
23. This was the faith established at Geneva, and received
and approved by the church of Scotland, in the beginning of the
Reformation. Could there possibly be a more pointed forbid-
ding of the sacred mystery of being joined to the Lord in one
spirit? And further, what they forbade, they were able to
execute by their politic magistrate, so that their kirks* and king-
doms should be wholly purged, as they express it, "from all
idolators and heretics, as Papists, Anabaptists, and such like
limbs of antichrist," as would not receive their reformed doctrine
of matrimony, which was common to all sorts.
24. To this Protestant confession of faith may be added their
public form of prayer. "Almighty God, from whom all power
is derived, we humbly beseech thee to bless thy servant the
.Lord-Lieutenant of this kingdom, and grant that he may use the
sword, which our Sovereig?i (or dread sovereign) Lord, the
King, hath committed into his hand for the protection of the true
religion established amongst us."
25. This true religion, as it is called, most positively forbids
every obligation to chastity, and all distinction between clean
and unclean beasts, under the terrors of the sword, and all pains,
civil and ecclesiastical, as will more fully appear. And what
these reformers established under the name of marriage, in the
place of all that had been called sacred, is manifest from their
own confessions.
26. In that part of their creed which respects mai-riage, the
name of God is not even mentioned, (except in the negative,) and
it is only when they speak of divorce, that the stolen words of
scripture, or the name of God is used ; which is a plain evidence
that they consider marriage as a thing common, and not as a
B. VI. CONCERNING CONTINENCE. 279
sacred institution. This is manifest in their latest creeds,* which c™jP-
shows that their faith has been uniform, on that subject, from the _
beginning. ,,.,,. j Srf.rfF.
27. "Marriage (say they) is to be between one man and one ofPn. Ch.
woman." No account here of that being dead wherein we were XX1V-
held, or of becoming dead to the law by the body of Christ; that Rom.vii.4.
we might be married to another, even to him that was raised
from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God.
28. Again they say, " Marriage was ordained for the mutual
help of husband and wife ; for the increase of mankind with a
legitimate issue, and of the church with an holy seed ; and for
preventing of uncleanness. It is lawful for all sorts of people
to marry, &c." "Bishops, priests and deacons are not com- xxxixAr-
manded by God's law either to vow the estate of single life, or
to abstain from marriage; therefore it is lawful for them to
marry at their own discretion."
29. If by marriage, they mean that outward sign or ceremony,
which they say was never ordained of God, but which they in-
vented to ratify the contract of man and wife, then marriage, in
their account, is but a civil rite, with which the true followers of
Christ never had any thing to do.
30. And this will appear most evidently to be the fact, if we
advert to the form of marriage, " ratified, rehearsed, allowed,
approved, and executed within the realm, by the assent and con-
sent of [their] Sovereign Lady Elizabeth, by the grace of
God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen, defender of the
faith, cf-c."
31. In this lascivious ceremony, after the parties have re-
peated much senseless jargon after the priest, the man shall put
a ring upon the fourth finger of the woman's left hand, and hold-
ing it there, and taught by the priest, shall say, " With this f^^l
ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all ray Prayer.
icordly goods I thee endovj : In the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.''''
32. The late American Presbyterian Confession says, "Such ch.xxiv.
as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with
infidels, Papists, or other idolators." An idolator is one who
worships an idol, a false god, or a plurality of gods. And are
the reformed Protestants no idolators? Do they worship one
God? Yea truly, and the above form of matrimony, without
either veil or fig-leaf, shows who it is — OCT3 Woman, with my body Book of
I thee worship! and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." p™.™?"
33. " The godly (they say) should not be unequally yoked
with such as maintain damnable heresies." Then, according to
their creed, it behooves the worshipper, forsooth, to worship the
Lord his God with all his heart, soul, strength and might; and
to this kind of worship all kinds of people enjoy an equal right.
280
PROTESTANT DOCTRINES
B. VI.
CHAP.
VIII.
Westm.
Direct. Ch.
ix.
*Sce Gal.
in. 28.
Westm.
Conf. and
Amer.
Edit.
34. They talk of solemnizing holy marriage; but so awful
a profanation of words, and so glaring a prostitution of common
sense, never was presented to the human ear, through all the
superstition and idolatry of pagan and popish priests ; and there-
fore this finishing work of antichrist, not only forbade the pure
spiritual marriage of the saints, but remitted and disannulled
every restraint that had ever been laid on the carnal lust of man,
and thereby corrupted the sacred institution to its very source.
35. The very idea of solemnizing the matrimonial contract,
implies that the Protestants considered it, in itself, void of any
sacred or spiritual sanction ; which is plain from their own words.
"We judge it expedient (say they) that marriage be solemnized
by a lawful minister of the word — that he may pray for a blessing
upon them — entreat the Lord to own and accept them in Christ
[*] who are to be joined in the honorable estate ot marriage, the
covenant of their God. That the Lord would be pleased to ac-
company his own ordinance with his blessing, particularly with
the comforts and fruits of marriage."
36. Hence they hypocritically pretend that their motive in
marrying is, " to increase the church with an, holy seed.'1'' But
their confession, in the posicript of their creed, is, that they
" beget children and keep families, merely for the world and the
flesh:" and the same confession says, that their masters of
families, moreover, " educate their children for the world and
the flesh — betraying the souls of their children to the devil."
37. Lastly, the end of their holy marriage, they say, is "for
preventing of uncleanness : and may be performed at any time
except on a day of public humiliation. And we advise that it be.
not on the Lord's day." Which is a further evidence that they
conceive nothing either sacred or solemn in it. Then it only re-
mains to enquire, what uncleanness it is instituted to prevent ?
38. The reformers have not left in the dark, what they mean
by uncleanness in general ; it is the same that Luther called popish
lust, or those lawless gratifications of the flesh which have no
kind of respect to a posterity. And does the Protestant mar-
riage prevent all such uncleanness ?
39. Does that solemn ordinance (as they call it) bind them to
such times and seasons as nature prescribes for conceiving seed ?
If it does not, have they sufficient authority to count that clean-
ness, which both law and gospel call uncleanness? Are the de-
crees of their most dread sovereign, or of their sovereign Lady,
and all their church guides sufficient to forbid and disannul that
sacred light of heaven, which excludes from the kingdom of Christ,
every lustful and lawless propensity? Is there no uncleanness
committed between the Protestant man and wife ?
B. VI. CONCERNING MARRIAGE. 281
40. The fact is, the Reformation opened the very last and most ^In-
effectual door for the unrestrained and full gratification of every —
unclean, and worse than brutal lust, both in man and woman,
under the name of a holy ordinance, by making the woman a
proper object of worship, or setting her up, openly and avowedly,
above all that is truly called God.
41. Therefore, according to the Protestant faith and practice,
every sacred rule of chastity, every degree of light, tending to
continency, or Gospel purity, has been anathematized out of coun-
tenance, and driven from their kirks and realms with the most
furious zeal.
42. They have enjoined it upon all, as a solemn duty to marry,
in their ways, and have established marriage in a way which in-
dulges the licentious prospect of living in the full gratification of
their lusts, with full liberty to defile and abuse each other in the
most scandalous, incestuous and debauching manner, without any
respect to times or seasons ; not even regarding the dictates of
modesty and prudence, and much less those interposing com-
mands of heaven, which, under the law of Moses, exempted the
woman from every such lawless abuse, while in a state of preg-
nancy, and throughout the days of her separation.
43. Then what have the Protestants to charge upon the
Papists ? Was it not they themselves that increased unto more
ungodliness, and whose words have eaten out the very marrow of 2 Tjm ..
the Gospel, as doth a canker ; among whom is Hymeneus or 27.
Hymen, i.e. the defender of ?iuptials, and Philctus, the carnal
lover ?
44. And who can be so justly charged with "departing (or
standing off) from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and
doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy," &c, as those very
false swearers, those perjured apostates, who not only renounced
the profession of chastity and continence, but publicly declaimed
against that innocent manner of life ?
45. In the heat of their reformed lust, they went on pulling
down and destroying those buildings, which both they, and their
respected forefathers, and good old mother church had deemed
most sacred, and which had been professedly erected, and, in their
way, solemnly dedicated for the accommodation of such as chose
to adopt the profession of continency. And lastly, to fill up the
measure of their character, they have forbidden holy marriage in
truth, and out of manifest contempt to everything sacred, have
contemned continency, and given the title of holy marriage to
their lascivious and vain ceremony.
46. These charges cannot apply to any civil government, in
itself considered ; for the members of such never were, nor ever
can be forbidden to marry in their way, by the followers of
Christ ; nor have such ever prohibited the marriage and spiritual
19
282 PROTESTANT DOCTRINES, &C. B. VI.
CvitiP' uni°n of the saints. It is, therefore, that apostate priesthood who
corrupted civil government with their hypocritical and obscene
forms of religion, to whom the charge of forbidding marriage
properly belongs.
47. Nor is every individual, who has been called by the name
of Protestant, to be ranked with those hypocritical liars, who set
out to sap the very foundation of truth. Amidst the darkness
of established systems, there have been men of candor and dis-
cernment, who were willing to give the Scriptures their due
weight on the side of G-ospel holiness. To instance this, a few
sentences from their writings may be sufficient.
Wilber- 48. " ' Mortify the flesh with its affections and lusts,' is (says
Rpii-io" Wilber force,) the Christian precept ; a soft luxurious course of
p. ii2. habitual indulgence, is the practice of the bulk of modern
Christians; and that constant moderation, that wholesome dis-
cipline of restraint and self denial, which are requisite to prevent
the unperceived encroachments of the inferior appetites, seem
altogether disused as the exploded austerities of monkish super-
stition."
Wesley's 49. Again, says John Wesley, " There are eunuchs who have
Nmes on made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake —
12. Happy they! who have abstained from marriage (though without
condemning or despising it) that they might walk more closely
with God ! He that is able to receive it, let him receive it: — this
gracious command [for such it is unquestionably, since to say,
such a man may live single, is saying nothing. Who ever
doubted this ?] is not designed for all men ; but only for those
few who are able to receive it. 0 let these receive it joy-
fully!"
B. VI. PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. 283
CHAPTER IX.
PROTESTANT CHANGES CONCERNING DISCIPLINE, RIGHTS,
AND TITLES.
Fasting is another article of the Reformation. The Protestants chap.ix.
charge the Papists with commanding to abstain from meats,
although they themselves have been as positive in their commands
of that kind as the Papists ; but the word commanding in 1
Tim. iv. 3 — is put into the text by the translators.
2. Blackwell, and after him Doddridge, observes, that "the Dodr. in
original words contain one of the boldest ellipses in the whole '
New Testament, where a word is to be understood contrary to
that which is before expressed." But admitting the propriety of
such a bold ellipsis, they can make nothing out of it to condemn
the Papists that will not apply to themselves. " To observe days Pbn- Di-
/._/... . ., > -r\ J 7 , . , , . , ,, J, rectory, ch.
oj jasting (say they) we juage both scriptural and rational, and xiv.
"a religious fast requires total abstinence from food."
3. Then if a temporary abstinence from meat or common food l Tim. ir.
is meant, the charge falls upon them equally with the Papists. 3'
If they make it signify a perpetual abstinence, either from meat,
or other common food, they will find no people on earth to whom
it will apply ; then it must follow that the abstinence respected
something else : and what should it more likely be than that from
which the followers of Christ universally abstained ?
4. Upon this principle, that text of Scripture would read with
propriety, and in harmony with others, without the bold ellipsis.
" But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions Acts, xv.
of idols, and fornication, and things strangled, and blood. For
it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us — that ye abstaiti
from meats offered to idols, &c. For this is the will of God, even 3.
your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication."
5. "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, l Pet
abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." This
exhortation to abstain from fleshly lusts is not "forbidding to
■marry and commanding to abstain from meals," as the transla-
tors, in their " bold ellipsis" have it ; and which stands, contrasted
with what Christ Jesus and his Apostles commanded, or enjoined,
for no one could ever obey these injunctions without abstaining
from the marriage of the flesh."
6. The doctrine and practice of the saints, was to marry only
in the Lord, or in the spirit — to abstain from fleshly lusts — from
fornication, and from meats offend to idols: these were insepa-
rably connected; and both were inseparably forbidden by the
20-29.
1 Thes. iv.
11.
vi. 18.
284 PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. B. VI.
chap. ix. menacing tone of the Protestant perjured reformers, and their
politic magistrates.
7. No life of continency was tolerated ; no abstinence from
fleshly lusts permitted, nor any suffered in the realm, that would
♦SeeiCor. not offer their meats,* yea all their worldly goods to that
insatiable idol, which they set up as an object of bodily worship.
Here was the forbidding to abstain from meats which, they say,
God created to be received with thanksgiving of them that believe
and know the truth ; but they neither knew nor believed the
truth nor used the creature of God according to its original end
when it was very good.
8. The meat which Christ Jesus spake of eating, was that of ab-
staining from his own will, and doing the will of God! "I came
John, iv. not to do mine own will," are his words — " I have meat to eat
28. ' that ye knoio not of — my meat is to do the will of him that sent
me." And the same that was his meat, became also the meat of
his followers. Their meat was to take up their cross, and ab-
stain from fleshly lusts, and do the will of Jesus Christ, as he did
the will of his Father. This was the true meat, which God had
appointed to be received with thanksgiving by them that believed
and knew the truth.
9. But on the contrary, the meats which satisfied the licentious
appetites of the Gentiles, were the gratification of their fleshly
l Cor. vi. lusts. Hence said the Apostle to the carnal Corinthians, " Meats
for the belly, and the belly for meats : but God shall destroy
both it and them." [Or more properly, fleshly lusts for their
pleasures ,t and these pleasures, meats for their fleshly natures;
but these things shall God destroy.] For the body is not for for-
nication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body."
10. Therefore the Protestants, in refusing nothing that tended
to gratify their fleshly lusts, rejected the cross of Christ altogether 4
and pretended to sanctify by their word of God and their prayers
that which all ecclesiastical writers on the subject, Protestant as
well as Papist, have owned and declared to be in its very core,
altogether evil and corrupt.
11. "We have explained this subject, to obviate the objections
to virgin purity, which are founded on the aforesaid text, accord-
ing to the common version, and from which it may be seen by
any candid mind that this text, cannot have the least bearing
against the course of life adopted by the believers in the second
appearing of Christ, for they have voluntarily chosen to follow
l Cor. ch. the example of Jesus Christ, which none presume to deny in this
ch. xi. l. respect. And would St. Paul point out as a prominent mark of
apostasy, that course of life which he himself had adopted and
■(■Whoever compares this sense with what follows to the end of the chapter, may
easily perceive that it is the true sense of the Apostle : besides it is inconsistent
with the nature of God to destroy that which is good. Destruction is denounced
only against that which in its very nature is evil.
B. VI. PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. 285
recommended to all men? And he also calls upon them to chap.ix.
follow him, even as he followed Christ.
12. Now, if such a course of life was a mark of apostasy, then
Paul, by setting himself up as an example, and "building again
the things which he destroyed," in so sacred a matter, must have
placed himself as an impostor, and false witness for Christ, and
thereby made himself a transgressor of the most sacrilegious See Gal. ii.
kind. ia
13. But the said translation is contradictory in itself, for the
supply words, " and commanding'''' being left out, if the first
part of the sentence is rendered "forbidding,'' the latter part
must also be rendered "forbidding to abstain from meats, which
God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which
believe and know the truth."
14. Now, who would say, that this latter forbidding could be
construed into a mark of apostasy ; if «it could not be so con-
strued, then the former " forbidding" is evidently rendered
wrong. Doubtless the translators saw this discrepancy, and sup-
plied the "bold ellipsis" (as Doddridge calls it,) which they had
no good authority to do; and there is much better authority,
which will render the whole consistent.
15. Therefore, if our opponents will have it literal, and apply
it to the carnal marriage of the world, we, on our part, are pre-
pared to show that they, and not "the followers of the Lamb,"
are the ones who are condemned by the text in question.
16. According to their highest and most approved critics, the
word koluo, which their translators have rendered in this place,
"forbidding ," originally and radically signified to confine, con-
strain, bind, or shut up, and that " commanding'''' is not in the
original.
17. Therefore, the text in the original reads literally binding,
confining, or constraining to marry, to abstain from meats,
which God had created to be received with thanksgiving &c.
18. Hence, the former applies literally with full force to the
Protestants, who, by their established religion, bind or constrain
to marry, after the course of the world, and thus "forbid,"
under the terrors of the civil sword, "the marriage of the Rev.xiv.4.
Lamb" in his virgin followers.
19. And the latter [abstaining from meats] the Papists and
Protestants may continue to divide between themselves, as they .
have already practically clone, by charging it upon each other,
and each partially practising it themselves.*
20. Nor have the Protestants any reason to reflect on the
♦The aforesaid translation, as we have rendered it, is supported by the Septua-
gint, Parkhurst, Bythvr, and More, and is inferred from Elackwell and Dod-
dridge; which, if admitted, (and it cannot, on any substantial grounds* be dis-
puted,) must settle this matter at once, between the lovers of purity, in the mar-
riage of the Lamb, and the lovers of carnal pleasure, in the marriage of the world.
286 PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. B. VI.
chap. ix. Papists, about their high and superstitious titles conferred on the
bishop of Home ; for the reformers left nothing behind on that
score. Besides the common titles that appear in their creeds and
confessions, such as Lord — Sovereign Lord — Dread Sovereign
Lord, they need but look into their bibles, to find a title as
presumptuous as ever the Pope sustained. To the Most High
and Mighty Prince James, fyc. Higher than the Most High
cannot be.
21. "The queen's majesty hath the chief power in this realm
of England, and other her dominions, unto whom the chief gov-
ernment of all estates of the realm, whether they be ecclesiastical
or civil doth appertain." This is a part of their reformed creed,
which included England, France, and Ireland; and had the
bishop of Rome ever greater authority in his dominions ?
22. The Protestants glory over the Papists, in being able to
bring their dark abominations to light ; but surely they ought to
be ashamed to exhibit those very same, and greater abominations,
in the open light, by their own practice.
23. When the Protestant Supremacy was established, and the
law respecting marriage reformed, there remained but one point
more to reform, that was of any great consequence to the priest-
hood; and that was, as their first book of discipline expresses it,
l Book of " the whole rents of the kirk, abused in Papistry, shall be re-
Discipline, ferred again to the kirk — that tithes, the uppermost cloth, the
clerk mail, thepasch-offcrings, tithe-ale ; all friaries, nunneries,
chantries, chaplainries, annual rents, <f*c, oe reduced to the help
of the kirk — the deacons disposing them to the ministry ; and
moreover that, merchants and craftsmen in Burg, should con-
tribute to the support of the kirk.'1''
24. Thus they turned the whole current of revenue, which, as
they say, had been lavished upon a profuse pontiff, and the various
monastic orders, into a regular channel of salary to support the
luxury of the new kirk-guides.
25. As to the great change which the reformed priesthood
boast of, in respect to supplying the common people with bibles,
this great exploit loses much of its importance when we consider
that it was only that sense or meaning which they fixed for the
Scriptures, and established by civil authority, that the people
were allowed to adopt.
26. Into this Catholic sense of the Scriptures, they were either
drawn by eloquence, driven by civil authority, or frighted by the
hideous din of eternal destruction against free-thinkers, free-
willers, and all such reprobate heretics as would dare to think
differently from the established system.
27. Their charging the Papists with idolatry, such as the
worship of images, relics, &c, was, but a further mark of their
hypocrisy, while they only re-formed the practice of idolatry into
92.
B. VI. PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. 287
another shape. They say, " The true God may not be CIIAP Ix-
worshipped according to the imaginations or devices of men — Amer.
wider any visible representation,"'1 yet they will use consecrated Co"'schrt
water, wine, and bread in their worship, and affirm that Christ, t-rCat. q.
(who is true God,) is thereby represented, sealed and applied to
believers.
28. And what have they but the imagination and devices of
men, for their songs, their long sermons, and pharisaical prayers ?
They acknowledge that Origen was the first who introduced the
practice of sermonizing upon the Scriptures ; that the oldest
psalmody they have, was introduced into the Church, in the
reign of Constaniine; and their own Scriptures prove, that their
standing and praying, to be seen of men, is the undeniable mark
of a hypocrite ; and yet such are the principal parts of their re-
formed worship.
29. And what are their steeple houses but Pagan temples re-
formed, and ornamented with pictures, pulpits, bells, and instru-
ments of music? And can any thing manifest greater blindness
than to call this work, built by their own hands, the Church, and
Christ's Church, or St. Paul's Church, and St Peter's Church?
Can Christ, or St. Paul and St. Peter have any fellowship or
union with such churches ?
30. Protestants pretend to abhor relics, and images ; but what
mean their costly marbles and epitaphs that ornament their bury-
ing grounds, and the images of their great ones, with which their
coin, their furniture and their houses have been replete ? *
31. They abhor popish titles : but after forming and 7-c-form-
ing, from the most mighty, down the long list of Lords, Knights,
Barons, Counts, and Earls, with their corresponding priestly
titles, it remains, even to this day, that the most humble grade
of the clergy, must be distinguished by the title of Reverend, or
Heverend Sir, and the very lowest class of their church members,
must be all gentlemen and ladies ; each a Sir, a Mr. & Madam,
or a Miss.
32. And if the more enterprising among the reformers, occa-
sionally introduce the use of common names, or scriptural-titles,
*To ghow the wonderful duplicity and horrid cruelty of that "Sovereign
Ladi/," to whom such supreme power was given, it is said: " All persons were
compelled to take the oath of supremacy, on pain ofdcoM." To take the oath of
supremacy! that is to say — to acknowledge the Queen"s supremacy in spiritual
matters, was to renounce the Pope, and the Catholic religion ; or, in other words,
to become an apostate. Thus, was a very large part of the people at once con-
demned to death, for adhering to the religion of their fathers ! !
Besides this act of monstrous barbarity, it was made high treason in a priest, to
say mass; it was made high treason in a priest to come into the kingdom from
abroad ; it was made high treason to harbor or to relieve a priest. Arid, on these
grounds, and others cf a like nature, hundreds upon hundreds, were butchered in
the most inhuman manner, being first hung up — then cut down, alive — their
bowels then ripped up, and their bodies chopped into quarters ! ! See Cobbetfs
History of the Reformation, p. 142. vs. 267 and 268.
288 PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. B. VI.
chap, ix. aiK| teach the same to others, the lesson is soon forgotten, and
their natural love of worldly honor insensibly leads them back
to the vain ceremony of pompous titles and nattering compli-
ments ; so that whatever the world is, the same in substance is
the Protestant Reformed Church, with only the superior ad-
vantages of a false religion, and the most refined arts of deception.
33. Virtue never needed the varnish of superstitious ceremo-
nies, and atoning rites. It was always vice and corruption that
required long prayers, and sermons, and sacraments, and outward
shows of sanctity, to change their native appearance, and ward
off deserved condemnation. Therefore the great work of reform'
ing these outward things, was a strong evidence of the increasing
depravity of the reformers.
34. It is written, The testimony of tivo men is true. The re-
formed church beareth witness of herself, and her mother also
beareth witness of her, and they both agree in one — that with all
her outward changes, and reformations, she only promoted a
greater increase of wickedness: and now, in the mouth of two or
three witnesses, shall this fact be established.
*p. 56. 35. In the Groimds of the Catholic Doctrine* it is testified,
that, " The fruits of the Reformation were such as could not
spring from a good tree. 1. An innumerable spawn of heresies.
2. Endless dissensions. 3. A perpetual itch of changing, and
inconstancy in their doctrine. In fine, a visible change of
manners for the worse, as many of their own writers freely
acknowledge. And old Erasmus long ago objected to them,
Ep. ad vulticr, where he defies them to shew him one who had
been reclaimed from vice by going over to their religion ; and he
declares he never yet met with one who did not seem changed for
the worse."
Ecci. His- 36. With regard to the Lutherans, Dr. Mosheim, a member
I°°p. 2S2 °f tnat branch of the Protestant church, states, that, " the terror
283. of excommunication lost its force; and ecclesiastical discipline
was reduced to such a shadow, that, in most places, there are
scarcely any remains, any traces of it to be seen at this day."
37. "This change may be attributed partly to the corrupt
propensities of mankind, who are naturally desirous of destroy-
ing the influence of every institution that is designed to curb
their licentious passions. This relaxation of ecclesiastical disci-
pline (adds the writer) removed one of the most powerful restraints
upon iniquity.
38. " When this is duly considered, it will not appear surpris-
ing that the manners of the Lutherans are so remarkably de-
praved, and that in a church that is deprived almost of all
authority and discipline, multitudes affront the public by their
audacious irregularities, and transgress with a frontless impu-
dence, through the prospect of impunity."
B. VI. PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. 289
39. So far concerning the reformed church of Luther. And chap.ix.
this, mind, is all the degree of virtue and regularity the
Lutheran Protestants had gained, for upwards of two hundred
years, since their separation from their mother church. What
respects the Calvinistic church may be seen at large in the West-
minister Confession of Faith, under the title of, A solemn con-
fession of public sins, from which the following is hut a small
extract.
40. "We [i.e. Reformed Calvinists, or Presbyterians] noble-
men, barons, gentlemen, bitrgesses, ministers of the Gospel, and
commons of all sorts, do humbly and sincerely, as in his sight,
who is the searcher of hearts, acknowledge the many sins and
great transgessions of the land. We have done wickedly, our
kings, our princes, our nobles, our judges, our officers, our
teachers and our people; and have broken all the articles of
that solemn league and covenant which we swore before God,
angels and men.
41. " We have been so far from endeavoring the extirpation
of profaneness, and what is contrary to the power of godliness,
that profanity hath been much winked at, and profane persons
much countenanced, and many times employed, until iniquity
and ungodliness hath gone over the face of the land as a flood.
42. "Nay, even those that had been looked upon as in-
cendiaries, and upon whom the Lord had set marks of desperate
malignancy, falsehood and deceit, were brought in, as fit to
manage public affairs. Nay, many of the nobility, gentry, and
burghers, who should have been examples of godliness, and sober
walking unto other, have been ring-leaders of excess and rioting.
43. "Albeit we be the Lord's people, yet to this day we have
not made it our study that judicatories should consist of, and
places of power and trust be filled with, men of a blameless and
Christian conversation; by which it hath come to pass, that
judicatories have been the seats of injustice and iniquity.
44. "It were impossible to reckon up all the abominations
that are in the land; but the blaspheming of the name of Cod,
swearing by the creatures, profaning of the Lord's day, unclean-
ness, drunkenness, excess and rioting, vanity of apparel, lying
and deceit, railing and cursing, arbitrary and uncontrolled
oppression, and grinding the faces of the poor by landlords, and
others in place and power, are becoming ordinary and common
sins. There be many who heretofore have dealt deceitfully with
the Lord, in swearing falsely by his name."
45. Then, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou
wicked church ! Where is the mark of false-hearted and rotten
apostates, in all the New Testament, that is not comprehended
in the foregoing catalogue of crimes, publicly confessed by these
pretended reformers ?
290 PROTESTANT DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. B. VI
chap ix. 4(5, Their universal crime is perjury, the mark of the beast in
the right hand lifted up in confirmation of a false oath ; and
what remained but for them to till up the measure of their cup
with desperate malignity, falsehood and, deceit, uncleanness,
drunkenness, excess and rioting, and such abominations as it
were impossible to reckon up?
47. Thus in the fatal schism between the civil and ecclesi-
astical powers, the beast, who was bred in that corrupt and
earthly mass, congested together by priests and politicians under
the name of a Christian hierarchy, comes up to open view, and
cannot be hid. He declares his own progeny, for he speaks like
a dragon, and leaves no mark of Rome Pagan, which he does
not describe in himself.
48. Whence proceeded such a flood of ungodliness ? was it not
from those judicatories that were seats of injustice, and iniquity'1.
And whence proceeded such universal uncleanness ? was it not
from their prohibiting chastity, and destroying every trace of
continence and true virtue ? And whence their excess and riot ?
was it not from their destroying every distinction of meats, which,
for conscience sake, had been made ? and have they not thus en-
couraged all ranks, rulers and ruled, priests and people to serve
their own bellies, instead of the Lord Jesus Christ ?
49. From all which, it is the most mauifest judgment of truth,
that the reformers and the reformed did, in the fullest perfection,
fill up those abominable characters of antichrist, described by
Christ and his Apostles ; who profess to know God, but in works
Titus i. ig. deny him, being abominable, and, disobedient, and unto every
good icork reprobate.
50. And it is equally manifest that these same Calvinists, who
were counted the most perfect reformers, who called themselves
God's elect, and reprobated as vessels of wrath to eternal dam-
nation, anabaptists and all others, who were not of the same Ca-
tholic kirk, are, upon their own pointed confession, unto every
good work reprobate.
51. By professing to be the followers of Jesus Christ, and ob-
servers of the word of God, they most evidently speak lies in
2 Tim.iii. hypocrisy, when in reality they are lovers of their own selves, cove-
tous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, truce-breakers, incontinent,
ferce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-
minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof Thus the
second beast, under his lamb-like form, exercised all the power
of the first beast before him.
B. VI. THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF, &C. 291
CHAPTER X.
THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS.
However abominable the doctrine of compulsion, and however chap. x.
corrupt the source from whence this principle flowed ; yet the
Protestant reformers retained it in its fullest extent. This is
manifest in their delivering over people of different sentiments to
be oppressed and punished by the civil powers.
2. The persecutions of the Priscillianists, by the ecclesiastics
of Spam, in the fourth century, were at that time, regarded with
abhorrence by the bishops of Gaul and Italy, " for Christians [i.e.
Catholics] had not yet learned, (says Mosheim) that giving over
heretics to be punished by the magistrates, was either an act of
piety or justice."
8. "No: (says his translator) this abominable doctrine was Ecci. His-
reserved for those times, when religion was to become an instru- ,0I7' J"1-1-
o p. 416.
rnent of despotism, or a pretext for the exercise of malevolence,
vengeance, and pride."
4. And it is evident from all the histories of those reforming
times, as well as from their own avowed creeds, that the Protest-
ant reformers not only retained this doctrine in principle, but
confirmed it by their practice ; being actuated by the same per-
secuting spirit of vengeance which had influenced the ungodly
ecclesiastics, who were raving mad with orthodoxy under the
papal power.
5. The Papal hierarchy being in a great measure broken in
pieces by means of the Reformation, and the reforming parties
being themselves broken in pieces by their own divisions and
perpetual dissensions, it was not possible for the latter to extend
the limits of their tyranny so far as the former, except when they
all united.
6. But the persecuting spirit of the Protestants was uniformly
one and the same with that which had produced the Spanish
court of inquisition, and fell short of its cruelties only in extent. FccI Re_
The same spirit of antichrist which actuated the Papists, actuated searches, p.
also the Protestants. 173'
7. Robinson says very justly, "Dominion over conscience is
antichrist any where. At Rome, antichrist is of age, a sovereign,
and wears a crown ; at the meanest meeting house, if the same
kind of tyranny be, antichrist is a beggar's baby at the breast;
but as conscience every where is a throne of God, so an usurper
of his throne is antichrist any where."
8. " Whatever deranges the equality of Christians, is the spirit ibid.p. isi.
292 THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP B. VI.
chap. x. of antichrist, all the rest is nothing but "the carcase." Call it
truth, or piety, or virtue, or the Gospel, or whatever you please,
the whole stands in direct opposition to the true Christ, so lone
as that persecuting spirit of tyranny remains connected with it.
9. It was but a little while after the Reformation commenced,
that this beastly work of persecution was set on foot, in order to
crush the rising sects in their infancy, to bow down every effort
on the side of freedom, and to extirpate every reputed heretic
who dared to oppose the reformed plans of corrupt ambition, and
more refined cruelties. And who more fit to set the example
than the first reformer, Martin Luther ? In him the spirit of
antichrist found an able advocate.
10. His most favorable historian, Dr. Mosheim, speaking of
Ecci. His- the bitterness and animosity of the first reformers, says, " Luther
Jv°p. 302. himself appears at the head of this sanguine tribe, whom he far
surpassed in infectives and abuse, treating his adversaries with
the most brutal asperity, and sparing neither rank nor condition."
ibid. p. 93. Dr. Maclaine speaks of his "obstinate, stubborn and violent
note [f]. temper, rendering him unfit for healing divisions."
History of 11. Dr. Robertson says, "His confidence that his own
voi.iifSp. ' opinions were well founded, approached to arrogance; his
311- courage in asserting them, to rashness ; his firmness in adhering
to them, to obstinacy ; and his zeal in confuting his adversaries,
to rage and scurrility.'''' He considered every thing as sub-
ordinate to his own opinions under the name of truth, and poured
forth against such as disappointed him in this particular, a tor-
rent of invective mingled with contempt.'''
Grounds of 12. All of which agrees with the following character given him
p.a54. B°C' ky bishop C hall oner. "All his works declare him to have been
a man of an implacable nature, rigidly self-willed, impatient of
contradiction, and rough and violent in his declamations against
those, of what quality soever, who dissented in the least from
him."
13. Such was the head of influence to the Reformation ; and
as every effect must resemble its cause ; so persecution must as
naturally flow from such a source, as goodness and mercy pro-
ceeded from the meek, the merciful, and self-denying Jesus.
14. From rage and scurrility, brutal asperity, and an im-
placable nature, might reasonably be expected bloodshed and
cruelty. Hence this famous reformer began to exercise his
beastly power by banishment, and so proceeded.
Ecci. Re- 15. He fell out with Carlostadt, and had him banished, not
54ir&e543! only fr°m Witt ember g, but followed him from place to place,
and had him expelled by order of the duke. He disliked Calvin,
he found great fault with Zuingle, who were all supported by
great patrons ; and he was angry beyond measure with the bap-
tists who had none.
B. VI.
THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS.
293
16. Luther himself had taught the doctrine of dipping, "bnt
the article of reforming without him he could not bear. This
exasperated him to the last degree, and he became their enemy ;
and notwithstanding all he had said in favor of dipping, he
persecuted them under the name of re-dippers, and re-baptizers,
or anabaptists.'1''
17. "There was a Thomas Muncer, who had been a minister
at several places, having been persecuted by Luther, and driven
to seek refuge where he could. There was Nicholas Stork,
Mark Stubner, Martin Cellarius, and others. Against all of
them Luther set himself. When he heard of their settling any
where, he officiously played the part of an universal bishop, and
wrote to princes and senates to expel such dangerous men."
18. Three of these were called prophets, of whom Melancthon,
wrote to the elector of Saxony as follows: Your highness is
aware of the many dangerous dissenters, which have distracted
your city of Zwickan on the subject of religion. Three of the
leaders have come here to [Wittemberg]. I have given them a
hearing, and it is astonishing what they tell of themselves, viz:
that they are postively sent by God to teach ; that they have
familiar conferences with God ; that they can foretell events, and
to be brief, that they are on a footing with Prophets and Apostles.
19. "I see strong reasons" continues Melancthon, "for not
despising the men, for it is clear to me, there is in them some-
thing more than a mere human spirit ; but whether the spirit be
of God or not, none except, Martin can judge." These Pro-
phets and their followers, taught and insisted on the principles
of a pure Church of Christ on earth, in opposition to the present
corrupt hierarchy.
20. They rejected infant baptism together with all the popish
rites and superstitions; and rebaptized all who joined their com-
munions ; and hence, in Luther's time, they received the name
of anabaptists. But in fact they were the true descendants from
the Waldneses, or more properly, they were the revivers of the
spirit and principles of those reputed, scattered, and persecuted
heretics of the valleys.
21. Milner says of Luther " that having been informed of the
extraordinary pretensions of these men, he had all along beheld
their conduct with a jealous eye." This same Luther whom the
judicious Melancthon commends as the only fit judge of the
spirits of those men, was their most inveterate enemy ! and hence
both Protestants and Papists were united in persecuting the
anabaptists, (now so called) with unrelenting cruelties, and with-
out any distinction ! All history declares this.
22. Thus it is clear that Luther's unrelenting enmity to these
men, arose from ambition, an insatiable desire for pre-eminence,
and plainly shows the hypocrisy of his profession.
chap. x.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
542.
Ibid. p. 5-13.
Mil. Chli.
His. p 341.
ch. viii.
Ibid, note
[i]. vol. ii.
Note [2].
294
THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP
B. VI.
CHAP. X.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
54 J.
Ibid. p. 551.
Ibid p 537
Eccl. His-
tory, vol
iv. p. 64,65.
nous b. d
Hi-tory of
Charle* V.
vol. ii p.
532.
Eccl Re-
searches, p.
537.
23. It is (says Rohi?ison) very truly said of cardinal Hosius,
that Luther did not intend to make all mankind as free as himself;
he had not foreseen that other men would apply the same reason-
ing to his tyranny over conscience, that he had so successfully
applied to that of the pope, and therefore he dethroned him that
he might set tip himself. His colleague, Carlostadt, found this
to his sorrow."
24. "On Luther's plan there was no probability of freedom
flowing to the people. It was only intended to free the priests
from obedience to the pope, and enable them to tyrannize over
the people in the name of the civil magistrate. Muncer saw this
fallacy, and remonstrated against it, and this is the crime which
Luther punished with an unpardonable rigor, and which the fol-
lowers of Luther have never forgiven to this day."
25. "Muncer, say they, was a man well skilled in the know-
ledge of the Scripture, before the devil inspired him ; but then he
had the arrogance not only to preach against the pope, but against
Master Doctor Martin Luther himself: as if Martin, of Saxony,
had any better patent for infallibility than Leo, of Rome!"
26. But the principal occasion which Luther took to vent out
his persecuting spirit, was from the insurrections of the peasants,
called the rustic war. The celebrated Voltaire, says, " Luther
had been successful in stirring up the princes, nobles, and magis-
trates against the pope and the bishops. Muncer stirred up the
peasants against them. He and his companions went about ad-
dressing themselves to the inhabitants of the country villages.
They laid open that dangerous truth, which is implanted in
every breast, that all men are born equal; saying, that if the
pope had treated the princes like their subjects, the princes had
treated the common people like beasts."
27. It was enough, then, to draw upon Muncer and his follow-
ers, the united vengeance of both Papists and Protestants, that
they would neither acknowledge the papal hierarchy, nor the re-
formed plans of Luther's more refined despotism.
28. However contrary to the spirit and precepts of the Gospel,
the conduct of the peasants, in taking up arms against their cruel
and unmerciful oppressors, it is granted, nay, affirmed by the most
authentic historians, that the peasants, the common people,
groaned under intolerable grievances, which they were no longer
able to bear; that the excessive and unsupportable tyranny of
the nobility and gentry, was such, as sometimes drove the un-
happy people to despair and distraction.
29. "When these depressed hearts sighed for freedom, divines
of all orders agreed to reproach them for their depravity, and to
scandalize the first of all human blessings with the odious name
of carnal liberty" 0 false divinity ! 0 cruel divinity! At
the head of this unjust and cruel tribe appears Luther.
B. VI.
THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS.
295
CHAP. X.
Eccl Re-
searches, p.
548.
Ibid p. 552.
30. Muncer drew up for the peasants a memorial or manifesto,
■which sets forth their grievances, and which they presented to
their lords, and dispersed all over Germany. It is a just piece.
Voltaire says, "A Lycurgus* xoould have signed it."
31. " Luther wrote four pieces on the subject. The first was
an answer to the manifesto, in which though he told them that
the princes were cruel oppressors, who had no excuse for their
injustice, and deserved to be dethroned by God, yet it was se-
ditious in the oppressed to resist them. His advice was, that
they should not resist evil, but when they were smitten on the
one cheek, turn the other also," and so on. " This was the doc-
trine of Christ, and such doctors as taught otherwise were worse
than Turks, and inspired by the devil."
32. This same Luther, who, under the hypocritical mask of a ibid. p. 553
minister of Christ, exhorted the oppressed peasants not to resist
evil, wrote again to the princes, and endeavored to convince them
that it was their duty to kill and exterminate those same peasants
as they would mad dogs.
33. The princes set about the work, agreeable to the instruc-
tions of this double-faced reformer, and thousands fell victims to
the most cruel and more than savage massacres, in which both
Papists and Protestants became united, and in which the peasants
without distinction were involved in one common fate of fire and
sword, and suffered with the most undistinguishing barbarity.
34. "It was in Saxony (says Mosheim) and also in the year
1525, that penal laws were first enacted against this fanatical
tribe. These laws were renewed frequently in the years 1527,
1528, and 1534." Charles V, also issued out against them
severe edicts in the years 1527, and 1529. The magistrates of
Zurich also denounced capital punishment against them, in the
year 1525.
35. Thus the united vengeance of both Papists and Protest-
ants, was let loose to destroy a people who groaned under intole-
rable oppressions, which they were no longer able to bear; and
as if this were not sufficient, Protestant historians must also
agree to hand down their characters in one common mass, as the
most detestable and seditious fanatics, and under all the odious
names that the spirit of malice and rage for persecution could in-
vent.
36. But all the art of Protestants, in painting the outrages of
the first rustic insurrections, and blending the conduct of those
furious abettors of human freedom with the doctrines and senti-
ments of harmless heretics, in order to palliate their own crimes,
can never clear their church of the deepest stains of blood-guilti-
ness, which arose from their unmerciful butchery of the innocent.
37. The particular circumstances relating to these insurrec-
•An equitable law-giver among the Pagans.
Eccl. His-
lory, vol.
iv. p. 435.
note [n].
296 THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF B. VI.
chap, x. tions, are very foreign from this work. Whoever wishes to see
that matter fairly investigated, may find it at large, in the judi-
cious and well authenticated Researches of Robert Robinson.
However, that Luther's persecuting rage was mainly directed
against those whom he condemned in his writings under the name
of anabaptists, and who unjustly suffered without resistance,
appears from what follows.
Ecci.His- 38. " It is to be observed (says Mosheim) that as the leaders
tory, vol. 0f this sect had fallen into that erroneous and chimerical notion,
that the neto kingdom of Christ, which they expected, was to be
exempt from every kind of vice, and from the smallest degree of
corruption, they were not satisfied with the plan of reformation
proposed by Luther.'''
Ecci. Re- 39. This was enough to kindle the flames of resentment in the
searches, p. J^-east of the implacable Luther, "who by taking the church as
the pope left it, included whole parishes and kingdoms, with all
the inhabitants of every description in the church."
40. That the most cruel resentment was kindled in the breast
of Luther against these people, is evident from his famous Augs-
burg Confession; each article of which begins with Docent ; i.e.
Ibid. p. 551. they teach; and ends with damnant, and many of them with
da??inant anabaptistas: i.e. they damn the anabaptists.
41. But what business had he, or any other who had no divine
authority, to teach what the faith of another should be ? or to call
in question the sentiments of others, and presumptuously damn
those who differed from him ? As if Martin Luther had all
power in heaven and upon earth !
42. It was a horrid crime in Luther's eye, for any to expect
a pure and unspotted church, and for that reason to be dissatis-
fied with his plans of reformation. If a corrupt and tyrannical
church had been the object of pursuit with these reputed heretics,
both they and their ancestors found one to their sorrow, long
enough before Luther rose up to establish his by the sword of
earthly princes.
43. The fact is, that reputed heretics had, in every age, wit-
nessed a good confession, by cheerfully laying down their lives in
support of their faith concerning a pure church, in opposition to
a corrupt Catholic hierarchy ; and the same undaunted spirit con?
tinued to witness against the Protestant reformers, and gave
them a fair opportunity to prove that they exercised all the power
of the first beast.
Ecci. His- 44. " In almost all the countries of Europe (says Mosheim) an
•°'y' 4T5 unspeakable number of these unhappy wretches preferred death,
in its worst forms, to a retraction of their errors. Neither the
view of the flames that were kindled to consume them, nor the
ignominy of the gibbet, nor the terrors of the sword, could shake
their invincible, but ill-placed constancy, or make them abandon
B. VI. THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS. 297
tenets that appeared dearer to them than life and all its enjoy-
CUAr- x.
ments."
45. "But Mosheim soon after adds, "It is true, indeed, that Ecci.His-
many anabaptists suffered death — merely because they were j°[£ ™'.-
judged to be incurable heretics ; for in this century, the error of
limiting the administration of baptism to adult persons only, and
the practice of re-baptizing such as had received that sacrament
in a state of infancy, were looked upon as most flagitious and in-
tolerable heresies."
46. And what greater cruelties did ever the Church of Rome
practice, than to cast into the flames such as they judged to be
incurable heretics, when no other blemish could be found ? But
Mosheim is pleased to call their faith concerning a pure church,
an erroneous and chimerical notion* and their sentiments vh|£1Sjh"
errors, and their constancy with which they faced death in its. Rev. rxi.
worst forms, ill-placed.
47. Just so the popish historian, Thuanus, speaks of the Newton on
Waldcnses, "that they were rather slain, put to flight, spoiled Pr°Ph- vol.
everywhere of their goods and dignities, and dispersed here and "
there, than that convinced of their error they repented."
48. It is acknowledged by their enemies, that many of these Ecci. His-
anabaptists were men of the most upright intentions and sincere j"*^^
piety, and that the innocent with those who were counted guilty, 4&5,43(>.
suffered with undistinguishing cruelty.
49. But it is remarkable that all those undistinguishing
cruelties, carried on under the cloak of suppressing sedition or
heresy, were practised in the same persecuting spirit, and with
the same misrepresentations and slanderous accusations that were
used by the ancient Pagans against the primitive Christians.! History00'"
50. How inconsistent it must appear to every feeling mind, to vol. i. p.' 73.
hear the title of glorious reformation, applied to that abominable
work which was wrought by Martin Luther and his followers,
when by gibbet andfre, and sword, they could exterminate their
fellow creatures from the earth, as they would mad dogs! g£l306.P"
Poisoned with a venom cruel as the grave, they applaud the zeal
and fortitude of Luther, in addressing the princes to take up
arms and destroy these odious and detestable fanatics !
51. And besides those undistinguishing cruelties, exercised by
the instigation of Luther, what fruits did his reformed gospel
produce in his own heart or life ? After he had proved it twenty
years, it did not even save him from his out-breaking sins, but
directly to the contrary. " He srew daily more peevish, more Historyof
•7 7 r -i J i j j." 1 J • /• * r Charles V.
irascible [more easily provoked to angerj and more impatient oj voi. iii.p.
contradiction.'''' So says Robertson. 313>
52. His whole life of ambition and cruelty, well comports with
the character he gives of himself in his last will ; and whether ibid. p. 314.
any temporal monarch, or pope, ever discovered the feelings of
20
298
THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP, &C.
B. VI.
chap. x. i^ own ambition more than Luther, may be seen from what
follows.
53. 7 am known (says he) in heaven, in earth, and hell, and
possess consequence sufficient for this demand, that my single
testimony be believed, seeing that God of his fatherly compassion
hath intrusted to me, though a damnable man and a miserable
sinner, the Gospel of his Son, and hath granted that I should be
so true and faithful in it, that many in the world have received
it by me as a doctor of the truth, while they contemn with detes-
tation, the bans of the Pope, ofCcesar, of kings, of princes, and
of priests, yea, of all devils. Why, then, may it not suffice, for
this disposal of a small estate, if the testimony of my hand be
affixed, audit can be said, Dr. Martin Luther, God's notary,
and witness of his Gospel, icrote these things*
54. And such a character as that of a damnable man, and a
miserable sinner, will every such imperious and persecuting tyrant
as Martin Luther have to subscribe, when, Cain-like, he is con-
victed that his own works are evil, and his brother's righteous.
Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servaid !
55. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
And he that saith that God hath intrusted to him the Gospel of
his Son, while his whole life and conduct, and his final testimony,
signed with his own hand, declares himself a damnable man and
a miserable sinner, \ the same is certainly a liar, and the truth is
not in him.
Mat. xii.
34. Luke
xix. 22.
J See 1
John, ii.
& iii. 8.
* The original of this specimen of Luther's presumptuous vanity and self-ap-
plause, as quoted by Robertson, runs thus: "Notus sum in ccelo, in terra, & in-
ferno, & auctoritatem ad hoc sufficientem habeo, ut mihi, soli credatur, cum Deus
mihi, homini licet damnabili, et miserabili peccatori, ex paterna misericordia
Evangelium filii sui crediderit, dederitque ut in eo verax & fidelis fuerim, ita ut
multi in mundo illud per me acceperint, & me pro Doctore veritatis agnoverint,
spreto banno Papte, Ctesaris, Regum, Principum & sacerdotum, imo omnium
dismonum odi. Quidni, igitur, ad dispositionem hanc, in re exigua, sufficiat, si
adsit manus meae testimonium, & dici possit hrec scripsit D. Martinus Luther, No-
tarius Dei, & testis EvaDgelii ejus." Seek. lib. iii. p. 651. See Hist, of
Charles V. vol. iii. p. 314.
B. VI. PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF JOHN CALVIN, &C.
299
CHAPTER XI.
THE PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF JOHN CALVIN, HIS FOLLOW-
ERS AND OTHER REFORMERS,
CHAP. XI.
The same persecuting spirit that influenced Martin Luther, in-
fluenced also John Calvin. At Geneva lie acted the part of a Eccl His_
universal bishop, presided in the assembly of the clergy, and in ton-, vol.
the Consistory, and punished heretics of all kinds with unremitted ^"[o].'*
fury, who had the confidence to object against his ecclesiastical p-366.
and inconsistent systems of tyranny.
2. Here were Beghards, and Spirituals, and Libertines, and ibid. p. 417.
heretics, and odious ones enough to give Calvin a fair opportunity
of proving that he possessed the same persecuting spirit with
which he was brought up in his mother's house.
3. There was one Gruet, whatever was his character, he was ibid. p. 418.
charged with denying " the divinity of the Christian religion [i.e.
the religion at Geneva'] and the immortality of the soul." He
also called Calvin the neiv pope, and other impieties of the like
nature, for which he was brought before the civil tribunals, in the
year 1550, and was condemned to death.
4. There were others who could not receive his doctrine of
eternal and absolute decrees. " These adversaries (says Mosheim)
felt, by a disagreeable experience, the warmth and violence of his
haughty temper, and that impatience of contradiction that arose
from an over-jealous concern for his honor, or rather for his un-
rivalled supremacy."
5. "He would not suffer them to remain at Geneva; nay, in
the heat of the controversy, being carried away by the impetu-
osity of his passions, he accused them of crimes, from which they
have been fully absolved by the impartial judgment of unpre-
judiced posterity."
6. "Among these victims of Calviii's unlimited power and ibid. p.4io.
excessive zeal, we may reckon Cast alio, master of the public
school at Geneva." He was deposed from office in the year
1544, and banished. A like fate happened to Bolsac, professor
of physic, whose favorable opinion of the Protestant religion first
brought him to Geneva; but finding himself mistaken, he had the
assurance, in the year 1551, to lift up his voice, in the full con-
gregation, against absolute decrees ; for which he was cast into
prison, and soon after, sent into banishment.
7. But none gave Calvinmore trouble than Michael Servetus, ibid. p. 473.
a Spanish physician, who appeared in the year 1530, and by his
abilities, both natural and acquired, had obtained the protection
300 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP JOHN CALVIN B. VI.
chap. xr. 0f many persons of weight in France, Germany, and Italy.
Notwithstanding these advantages, Calvin had him imprisoned,
and an accusation of blasphemy brought against him by the
council.
Ecci. Re- 3. Servetus was a man of a free and liberal turn of mind, " he
searches, Wag an original genius (says Robinson) of a manly spirit, bold in
his enquiries after truth, and generous as the clay in communica-
ting his opinions, not doubting that he had as much right to
investigate the doctrine of the Trinity, as others had that of
transubstayitiation."
Ibid, p.328. 9_ in the year 1531 and 1532, he published two books, both
intended to disprove the doctrine of the Trinity ; and as they
denied the popular notion of persons in (rod, and affirmed that
Jesus was a man, they procured him a great number of enemies,
and also many friends. He had freely communicated his senti-
ments to Oecolampadius and Bucer.
10. Both these divines had the character of mildness; but
Oecolampadius thought anger just in this case, and Bucer
ibid.p 329. declared from the pulpit, that "Servetus deserved to be cut in
pieces, and his bowels torn out of him." All the artillery of the
orthodox was now directed against this haughty Spanish blas-
phemous heretic ; for so they, whom the greater part of Europe
called heretics, had the inconsistency to call Servetus.
11. Calvin having published his favorite production entitled
Christian Institutes : Servetus read this book ; finding in it a
great number of mistakes and errors, he took the liberty to inform
the author of them. This so irritated Calvin, that he never
forgave him, and instead of profiting by the advice, he wrote to
his friends, Virel audFarel, "that if ever this heretic should fall
into his hands, he would order it so, that it should cost him his
life." And so it fell out.
ibid.p. 336. 12- Calvin had an admirer at Geneva whose name was Trie,
this Trie had a relation at Lyons, a Papist, whose name was
Arney, who incessantly exhorted his cousin Trie to return to the
bosom of the Church. Calvin dictated letters in the name of
Wm. Trie, who directed them to Arney, and Arney carried them
to Ory, the Inquisitor * By which means, in the year 1553,
Servetus was seized and cast into prison; but four days after
made his escape, and could not be found.
*It was an iniquitous example which John Calvin set by encouraging the
Papists to continue their sport in shedding innocent blood, when in his letter
under the name of Trie, he says, "I thank God that vices are better corrected
here than among all your officials — with you they support a heretic, who deserves
to be burnt wherever he is found. When I mention to you a heretic, I mention
one who shall be condemned by the Papists as well as by us, at least he deserves to
be so : for although we differ in opinion about many things, we are still agreed,
that there are three persons in one essence of God. You cruelly burn us : but
behold him, who shall call Jesus Christ an idol, who shall destroy all the founda-
tions of faith, who gather together all the dreams of ancient heretics, who shall
B. VI. AND OTHER REFORMERS. 301
13. The prosecution was carried on in his absence, and he was chap, xi.
condemned to be burnt alive, in a slow fire. And seeing his person Ecci. Re-
could not be found, the sentence was executed in effigy. " The p6^68'
effigy of Serretus was set in a dung cart, with five bales of his
books, and all were burnt together for the glory of God and the
safety of the Church.'"
14. Four months after, Servetus was discovered, while waiting ibid.P.33S.
for a boat to cross the lake, in his way to Zurich. Calvin got
intelligence, and prevailed upon the chief magistrate to arrest
and imprison him, although it was on the first day of the week
or sabbath, when, by the laws of Geneva, no person could be ar-
rested, except for a capital crime: but Calvin pretended that
Servetus was a heretic, and heresy was a capital crime. To
prison he was committed, and the same day he was tried in
court.
15. As it was necessary for some one to prosecute Servetus,
Calvin employed one of his own family Nicholas dc la Fontaine.
Some say he had been a cook, others a valet or servant; but,
whatever he had been, he was now a preacher. Short as the
notice had been, La Fontaine was ready prepared, and a humble
request was presented to the judges, in which Servetus was
accused of uttering blasphemies against God, infecting the world
with heresies and condemning the doctrine preached at Geneva.
16. Calvin did not blush to say, " I ordered it so that a party
should be found to accuse him, not denying that the action was
drawn up by my advice." And he expressly affirms, " La
Fontaine demanded justice against him by my advice." On a
future day Calvin appeared in court, and disputed with Servetus,
on the words, person and hypostasis: and yet he knew if he suc-
ceeded in convicting-the prisoner of heresy, the crime was capital,
and he was doomed by the law to die.
17. Servetus presented a petition to the magistrates and
council. The petition was rejected. The attorney-general
observed, that the court ought not to grant the petitioner an
advocate, because he himself was thoroughly skilled in the art of
telling lies. What chance had Servetus for his life ?
13. This was his deplorable situation: "Far from his own ibid. P. 340
country, fallen into the hands of cruel strangers, all under the
influence of Calvin, his avowed enemy, who bore him a mortal
hatred; stript of all his property ; confinedin a damp prison, and
neglected till he was almost eaten up with vermin, denied an
advocate, and loaded with every indignity that barbarity could
invent."
even condemn the baptism of little children, calling it a diabolical invention; and
he shall have the vogue amongst you, and be supported as if he had committed no
fault. AVhere, pray, is the zeal you pretend to ? And where is the wisdom of this
fine hierarchy you magnify so much 1" Robinson's Ecclesiastical Researches,
p. 336.
302
PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF JOHN CALVIN B. VI.
CHAP. XI.
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 341.
Ibid. p. 312.
Ibid. p. 343,
344.
Ibid. p. 346.
19. "The last act of this tragedy was performed at Geneva,
on the 27th of October, 1553. Calvin had drawn up the pro-
cess against Servelus ; the magistrates and council had denounced
sentence against him that he should be burnt alive ; and on this
day, with many brutal circumstances, the sentence was executed
to the encouragement of Catholic cruelty, to the scandal of the
pretended reformation, to the offence of all just men, and to the
everlasting disgrace of those ecclesiastical tyrants, who were the
chief instruments of such a wild and barbarous deed."
20. "Many (says Robinson,) have pretended to apologize for
Calvin: but who is John Calvin, and what are his nostrums,
which end in tyranny and murder, that the great voice of
nature should be drowned in the din of a vain babbling about
him?"
21. " Servetus was not a subject of the Republic of Geneva;
he had committed no offence against the laws of the state: he
was passing peaceably on the road which lay through the city ;
he was not a member of any reformed church; he was an useful
and honorable member of society ; he was a man of unimpeached
morality ; he was then the admiration of numbers of good judges,
who afterwards pleaded his cause."
22. Calvin's hard heart never relented at the recollection of
this bloody action. On the contrary, he justified it by publish-
ing, after the execution, a book entitled, " A faithful account of
the errors of Michael Servetus, in ivhich it is proved that
heretics ought to be restrained with the sivord,."
23. Castellio or Socinus confuted this book. Beza answered,
and justified the doctrine of putting heretics to death. Several
endeavored to sanctify the crime by scripture texts, and godly
words ; and many have attempted, after these examples, to do
the same. They go so far, some of them, as to attribute the
destruction of Servetus to a special providence of God. Can the
nicest critic tell wherein this differs from the spirit and style of
the papal Inquisition ?
24. "The execution of this man (says Robinson,) occasioned
a great many excellent and unanswerable treatises against per-
secution. Beza was offended because the authors said he had
published a book to justify the murder of heretics ; whereas he
had only wrote one to prove that they ought to bo put to death.
They called him a bloody man for exhorting magistrates to put
men to death for religion; and he retorted, he had wished, and
he continued to wish, the magistrates would serve them so."
. 25. The apologists for Calvin urge the example of Melancthon,
in proof of the justice of putting Servetus to death. " Melanc-
thon himself, (say they,) the most moderate and mildest of all
reformers, approves what has been done at Geneva." Then if
such was the spirit of the mildest of all the reformers, what kind
B. VI.
AND OTHER REFORMERS.
303
Eccl. His-
tory, vol.
v. p. 482.
of men were those whom the Protestants acknowledge to be men CHAP. xi.
of violent, haughty, and brutal tempers ?
26. Mosheim says, the Anabaptists, and those who denied the
divinity of Christ, [i.e. those who denied that Jesus was God,]
and a trinity of persons in the Godhead, were objects of common
aversion, against whom the zeal, vigilance, and severity of
Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists were united, and, in oppos-
ing whose settlement and progress, these three communions,
forgetting their dissensions, joined their most vigorous councils
and endeavors.
27. He that is joined to an harlot, is one body, say the
Scriptures. The Lutherans and Calvinists were joined to the
Papists in shedding innocent blood ; therefore, their Protestant
persecuting churches were indisputably one in spirit, nature, and
disposition with the old scarlet whore, their mother church of
Rome, as much as the daughters of a harlot are one in spirit,
nature, and disposition, with their mother.
28. The Protestant reformers could encourage persecution, and
could set the example, both by their principles and practice, and
unite with the Papists, in continuing to shed innocent blood ;
as if the purple and crimson dye of their mother's attire had not
been stained deep enough.
29. Voltaire, who deplores the death of Servetus, says, " The
finishing stroke to this picture of Calvin, may be found in a
letter written with his own hand, which is still preserved in the
castle of Bastic Roland, near Montelimar. It is directed to the
Marques de Poet, high chamberlain to the king of Navarre, and
dated September, 30th, 1561."
30. " Honor, glory, and riches shall be the reward of your
pains : but above all do not fail to rid the country of those
zealous scoundrels who stir up the people to revolt against us.
Such monsters should be exterminated, as I have exterminated
Michael Servetus, the Spaniard.'''' Bloody Cain! Where is
Abel thy brother ? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Gen, iv
me from the ground.
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 348.
Anc. and
Mod. Hist
ch. cxiii.
31. The persecuting spirit of Calvin was not confined to
Geneva. Robinson says, he and other foreign divines had many
tools in Poland, particularly Prasnicius, a violent orthodox
clergyman. With this man, and through him with the nobility,
gentry, and clergy, Calvin and Beza corresponded : and many
divines of Germany and Switzerland, and even the synod of
Geneva, sent letters and tracts into Poland, all justifying the
murder of Gentilis and Servetus, and the necessity of employing
the secular power to rid the world of such monsters as denied the
trinity and infant baptism.
32. "The advice given by the Consistory of Geneva to prince
Radzivil, is a most ignorant and impious attack on the liberties
Eccl. Re
searches,
p. 5S4.
Ibi .p. 85
304 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP JOHN CALVIN B. VI.
chap, xi. au(j iives 0f innocent men. They beg his highness, as the first
in piety and dignity to use his influence with the nobility of
Poland, to engage them to treat the antitrinitarians as they
would Tartars and Muscovites.''''
Ecci.iiis- 83. It was here also, in Poland, that the "Catholics, Lu-
i"p.482, Ikerans, and Galvinists" were united in one spirit of cruelty, to
483. crush those who, for the sake of peace had fled there, from their
iron arm of persecution in other places. It would be very dis-
agreeable, unnecessary, and indeed endless to enumerate all the
particular cruelties and unjust measures practised by the first
reformers, and through their influence.*
34. If matters of fact can establish any certainty, then it is
* We here present the reader with two extracts of letters written by Andrew
Dudith, of Poland, who had been excommunicated from the church of Rome for
heresy. His sentiments favored the Unitarian Baptists, a species of popular
heretics who had fled into Poland, for the enjoyment of that religious liberty which
was denied them in other places. Dudith corresponded with many of the most
noted reformers; and these extracts clearly discover the spirit by which they were
actuated, and may serve to show the light in which that discerning man viewed the
conduct of these persecuting Protestants.
" Tell me, (says he to Wolff,) my learned friend, now that the Calvinists have
burnt Servetus, and beheaded Gentilis, and murdered many others, having ban-
ished Bernard Ochin with his wife and children from your city, in the depth of a
sharp winter; now that the Lutherans have expelled Lasco, with the congrega-
tion of foreigners that came out of England with him, in an extremely rigorous
season of the year; having done a great many such exploits, all contrary to the
genius of Christianity, how, I ask, how shall we meet the Papists? With what face
can we tax them with cruelty? How dare we say, Our weapons are not carnal?
How can we any longer urge. Let both grow together till the harvest ? Let us
cease to boast, that faith cannot be compelled, and that conscience ought to be
free."
"You contend, (says he to Beza,) that Scripture is a perfect rule of faith and
practice. But you are all divided about the sense of Scripture, and you have not
settled who shall be judge. You say one thing, Stancarus another. You quote
Scripture, he quotes Scripture. You reason, he reasons. You require me to be-
lieve you. I respect you: but why should I trust you rather than Stancarus?
You say, he is a heretic : but the Papists say, you are both heretics. Shall I be-
lieve them ? They quote historians and fathers: so do you. To whom do you
address yourselves ? Where is the judge? You say, the spirits of the prophets
are subject to the prophets; but you say I am no prophet, and I say, you are not
one. Who is to be judge? I love liberty as well as you. You have broken off
your yoke, allow me to break mine. Having freed yourselves from the tyranny
of Popish prelates, why do you turn ecclesiastical tyrants yourselves, and treat
others with barbarity and eruelty for only doing what you set them an example
to do? You contend, that your lay-hearers, the magistrates, and not you, are to
be blamed, for it is they who banish and burn for heresy. I know you make this
excuie : but tell me have not you instilled such principles into their ears? Have
they done anything more than put in practice the doctrine that you taught them?
Have you not been the constant panegyrists of such princes as have depopulated
whole districts for heresy? Do you not daily teach, that they who appeal from
your confessions to Scripture ought to be punished by the secular power? It is
impossible for you to deny this. Does not all the world know that you are a set
of demagogues, or (to speak more mildly) a sort of tribunes, and that the magis-
trates do nothing but exhibit in public what you teach them in private? You try
to justify the banishment of Ochin, and the execution of others, and you seem to
wish Poland would follow your example. God forbid ! When you talk of your
Augsburg Confession, and your Helvetic Creed, and your unanimity, and your
fundamental truths, I keep thinking of the sixth commandment, Thou shalt not
kill." — Ecclesiastical Researches, p. 592, 593.
B. VI. AND OTHER REFORMERS. 305
certain, that the two principal pillars of the reformation, Martin CHAP- XI -
Luther and John Calvin, and their confederate reformers, were
influenced by the self-same spirit of cruelty and injustice, which
had influenced the ecclesiastical tyrants of every age, from Bio-
trephes and the Alexandrian priesthood down to the same Luther
and Calvin. It will be necessary now to take some notice of
the same persecuting spirit in England, and America.
35. The whole life of Henry VIII, one of the first reformers
and the principal supporter of the reformation in England, was Humes
one continued scene of ambition and cruelty. "The flattery of England0
courtiers, (says Hume,) had so inflamed his tyrannical arrogance, h.vhi. eh.
that he thought himself entitled to regulate, by his own peculiar
standard, the religious faith of the whole nation."
36. There was one Lambert, a schoolmaster in London, who
was committed to the flames, because he had dared to differ from
the king in his religious opinions, and openly to propagate his
doctrines.* "He was burned at a slow fire; his legs and thighs
were consumed to the stumps ; and when there appeared no end
of his torments, some of the guards more merciful than the rest,
lifted him on their halberts, and threw him into the flames, where
he was consumed."
37. "Some few days before this execution, four Dutch Ana-
baptists, three men and a woman, had faggots tied to their backs,
at Paul's cross, and were burned in that manner. A man and a
woman of the same sect and country, were burned at Smith-
field:'
38. Under Edward VI, the son and successor of Henry, ibid.ch.3.
heresy was still a capital crime by the common law, and sub-
jected to the penalty of burning. " Though the Protestant
divines (says Hume) had ventured to renounce opinions deemed
certain during many ages, they regarded, in their turn, the new
system as so certain, that they would suffer no contradiction with
regard to it; and they were ready to burn in the same flames,
from which themselves had so narrowly escaped, every one that
had the assurance to differ from them."
39. "A commission by act of council was granted to the
primate, [archbishop,] and some others, to examine and search
after all Anabaptists, heretics, or contemners of the Book of
Common Prayer.'1'' A woman, called Joan Bother, or Joan of
Kent, accused of heresy, was committed to the flames. f After- + By bp-
wards, a Dutchman, called Van Paris, accused of the heresy
called Arianism, was condemned to the same punishment."
* Lambert denied the real presence of Christ in the eucharist, which was a
doctrine so strenuously maintained by Henry that he would suffer no contradiction
with respect to it. Dr. Barnes, a Lutheran, was the instigator of this prosecu-
tion, who had Lambert summoned before Cranmer and Latimer. Lambert
appealed to the king, who, after disputing with him upon his favorite doctrine,
ordered him to be committed to the flames.
30G
PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP JOHN CALVIN B. VI.
CHAP. XI.
« Short
view of Ec.
History, p.
273.
Hume's
History of
England,
rh. 41. &
Eccl His-
tory, vol.
iv. p. 3S2.
note [p] .
Crabbett's
History
Rgf. p. 1S5.
40. Under Queen Elizabeth, whom the Protestants call
That bright occidental star; but "the most wicked) says a late
"writer) that ever was known in any reign* t " "It was decreed
that whosoever, in any way, reconciled any one to the church of
Rome, or was himself reconciled, was to be declared guilty of
treason. To say mass was subjected to the penalty of a year's
imprisonment, and a fine of two hundred marks. The being
present at mass was punishable by a year's imprisonment, and a
fine of one hundred marks. A fine of twenty pounds for being
absent from church a month. A severe law was also enacted
against Jesuits and popish priests. Some, even of those who
defend the queen's measures, allow that, in ten years, fifty
priests were executed, and fifty-five banished."
41. But the most powerful instrument of persecution, as well
as the most perfect substitute of Papal cruelty, during this reign,
was the Ecclesiastical Court of High Commission, established
by John Whit gift, the queen's primate, in the year 1584.
Whit gift was archbishop of Canterbury.
42. Hume says, "He appointed forty-four commissioners,
twelve of whom were ecclesiastics, to visit and reform all errors,
heresies, schisms, &c. ; to regulate all opinions; to punish all
breach of uniformity in the exercise of public worship ; to make
enquiry, not only by legal methods of juries and witnesses, but
by any other means which they could devise, by rack, by torture,
by inquisition, by imprisonment, &c."
f No wonder that the writer gives this idolized and impiously extolled queen such
a character. Blackwood, after stating the well known cruelty of Henry VIII,
says, "but it is not equally well known that his daughter Elizabeth, had an array
of three hundred heads of persons convicted of high treason, placed on London
Bridge, (though according to history, there appears but little or no proof of their
guilt, except some offence they might have given to this implacable tyrant and
genuine spawn of her cruel father. Some of them had been her most devoted
servants, including her cousin and friend Duke Norfolk, and her romantic lover,
Earl of Essex (who had been her most successful general). "And so far from
being shocked at the ghastly array, she took the foreign ambassadors to see it, in
order to show as she expressed it, ' how we serve traitors in England."
Blackwood continues : " Protestant historians have recounted with just indigna-
tion, that the bloody Mary cast 240 (others say 277) men, women and children
into the flames, during her brief, but atrocious reign, but they have not equally
and prominently brought forward the fact, which is equally certain, that a still
greater number* of Catholic priests and partisans, were, by her Protestant suc-
cessor, secretly racked to the utmost limits which the human frame can endure, in
that awful scene of human agony, the tower of London.
Such then was the character of this " bright and occidental star." But it is
doubtful whether a more audacious and cruel tyrant can be found in history, among
all the female sovereigns that ever reigned in the heathen world. Yet such char-
acters as Henry and this his daughter, were the first agents who founded and
established the present national church of the British realms. Is it possible that
rational minds can suppose that a true church and pure < hristianity, can descend
from such a cruel and abominable source as HenRy and Elizabeth, and their
coadjutors. Might we not as well suppose that mercy and holiness, can proceed
and be propagated from Satan and his infernal crew? As to her maiden virtues
Whitaker (a Protestant clergyman, mind) says, that5"her life was stained with
gross licentiousness, and she had many gallants, while she called herself a maiden
queen." Her life as he truly says, " was a life of mischief and of misery."
B. VI.
AND OTHER REFORMERS.
307
lo Js. VI.
43. "When they found reason to suspect any person, they CHAP- XI-
might administer to him an oath called ex officio, by which he
was bound to answer all questions, and might thereby be obliged
to accuse himself or his most intimate friend. The fines which
they levied were discretionary, and often occasioned the total
ruin of the offender, contrary to the established laws of the
kingdom."
44. The imprisonments to which they condemned any delin-
quent, were limited by no rule but their own pleasure. These
ecclesiastical commissioners were liable to no control. In
a word, this court was a real Inquisition, attended with all
the iniquities as well as cruelties inseparable from that
tribunal."
45. The spirit of this bloody inquisition continued through the Hume's
reign of king James VI. who is canonized, as the Most High, in Ene°and°f
that translation of the bible which he established. " Under this Appendix
reign (says Hume) no toleration for the different sects. Two
Arians, under the title of heretics, were punished by fire; and no
one reign since the Reformation had been free from like barba-
rities." And so they proceed.
46. A specimen of the barbarous decrees and tyrannical laws,
established in those times, down to the reign of Charles II.
may be seen in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and Na-
tional Covenant. " The sixty-ninth article, Pari. 6. of king
James VI, declares that there is no other face of kirk, nor
other face of religion, than was presently at that time estab-
lished within this realm : Which therefore is ever styled God's
true religion — and a perfect religion; which by manifold
acts of parliament, all within this realm are bound to profess,
to subscribe the articles thereof, the confession of faith, to
recant all doctrine and errors repugnant to any of the said
articles."
47. " And all magistrates, &c, on the one part, are ordained
to search, apprehend, and punish all contraveners. That all
kings and princes, at their coronation, shall make their solemn
oath in the presence of the eternal God — that they shall be careful
to root out of their empire all heretics, &c."* tC"^ Could
the decrees of that horrible court of the papal inquisition
be more manifestly contrary to the spirit and precepts of the
Gospel ?
*In the National Covenant, which was subscribed by king Charles II. in the
year 1650, and 1651, and which all within the realm were bound by an ordinance
of council to subscribe, it is written : " We promise and swear by the Great name
of the Lord our God, to continue in the profession of the aforesaid religion — and re-
sist all contrary errors — all the days of our life. And in like manner we promise and
swear, that we shall to the utmost of our power, with our means and lives, stand to
the defence of our dread sovereign, the king's majesty, his person and authority,
in the defence and preservation of the aforesaid true religion/'
308
PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS.
B. VI.
CHAP.
XII.
48. Such were the dire decrees and bloody resolutions by
which they rooted out every appearance of true light, and in their
rage for orthodoxy, went on butchering one another, until the
testimony of George Fox furnished a common object of perse-
cuting cruelty.
CHAPTER XII.
Sewel's
History,
25.
Eccl. His-
tory, vol. V.
p. 451.
Sewel's
History, p.
335.
THE PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS IN ENGLAND AND
AMERICA, IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
The same year in which the National Covenant of persecuting
venom was subscribed by Charles, and the defenders of his
sovereignty, George Fox, and those who embraced his testimony,
received the name of Quakers, from Gervas Bennet, a perse-
cuting magistrate, on account of George Fox's bidding him and
those about him, tremble at the word, of the Lord.
2. Mosheim says, " It is not at all surprising that the secular
arm was at length raised against these pernicious fanatics, for
they would never give to magistrates those titles of honor and
pre-eminence that are designed to mark the respect due to their
authority ; they also refused obstinately to take the oath of alle-
giance to their sovereign, and to pay tithes to the clergy ; hence
they were looked upon as rebellious subjects, and, on that account,
were frequently punished [persecuted] with great severity."
3. How astonishingly dark must be the state of the human
race, when such discerning and otherwise liberal-minded men as
Mosheim, with apparent sincerity, utter such a sentiment ! What
better reason for persecution was this than the Papists had ?
4. The unreasonable fines, imprisonments, banishments, and
other acts of cruelty which they suffered, under the united rage
of Protestant priests and politicians, may be seen at large in
Sewers History of the People called Quakers ; a few particulars
of which we shall notice.
5. After relating many scenes of cruelty, which terminated in
the death of the sufferers, the historian says, " Severe persecu-
tion raged not only in London, but all over the kingdom [in
1662] of which a relation was printed of more than four thousand
two hundred of those called Quakers, both men and women, that
were imprisoned either for frequenting meeting or for refusing to
swear. Many of these were grievously beaten, or their clothes
torn, or taken away from them ; and some were put into such
B. VI.
PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS.
309
CHAP.
XII.
stinking dungeons, that some great men said, they would not
have put their hunting dogs there."
6. Some prisons were crowded full of both men and women,
so that there was not sufficient room for all to sit down at once ;
and in Cheshire, sixty-eight persons were in this manner locked
up in a small room. By such ill treatment many grew sick, and
not a few died in such jails; for no age or sex was regarded, but
even ancient people, of sixty, seventy, and more years of age,
were not spared."
7. " This year [1676] died in prison John Sage, being about Sewel's
eighty years of age, after having been in prison at Ivelchester, in
History, p.
514.
Somersetshire, almost ten years, for not paying tithes. And it
appeared, that since the restoration of king Charles, above two
hundred of the people ealled Quakers, died in prisons in England,
where they had been confined because of their religion."
8. The first of those called Quakers, who really suffered banish-
ment, were Edward Brush and James Harding, who were
carried to Jamaica. And it is stated as a remarkable fact, that
the plague which soon after raged with such violence in London,
first broke out in a house next door to where Edward had
lived.
9. In the forepart of the year 1665, many of the Quakers were ibid.p.430.
sentenced to be transported; and as the sentences of transporta-
tion were multiplied in the course of the following summer; so
(as is remarked) the number of those that died of the pestilence
much more increased.
10. In consequence of those cruel sentences, fifty-five Quakers,
eighteen of whom were women, were put on board one ship ; but
before they were able to proceed on their voyage, the plague so
increased that many died on board the ship ; and according to
the bills of mortality, in the beginning of August, while the ship
was yet in port, upwards of three thousand died in one week in
the city of London.
11. Notwithstanding the number of deaths still increased, and
the pestilence raged to that degree, in the latter end of September,
that upwards of eight thousand people died in London in one
week, and the grass grew in the most populous streets of the city ;
yet the Quakers' meetings were still disturbed, and sentences of
transportation still continued.
12. According to the laws of the realm, the penalty for attend- ibid. p. 403.
ing any conventicle or religious meeting, separate from the
established worship, was three months imprisonment or five
pounds for the first offence, and ten pounds or six months impri-
sonment, for the second, and banishment beyond the seas, for
seven years, for the third offence, or one hundred pounds for a dis-
charge, and the additional sum of one hundred pounds more for
every new offence committed.
310
PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS.
B. VI.
Sewel's
History,
4S6.
chap. 13, And in case that any one, being condemned to banishment,
should escape or return within the time prescribed, he should
suffer death, and forfeit all his goods and chattels forever. _ Under
this worse than savage system many were fleeced of their whole
estates, while the malicious priests exercised their utmost vigilance
to detect the innocent, and inflame the civil powers, with whom
they shared the spoil.
14. It would be endless to enumerate the sums unjustly and
cruelly extorted from the harmless Quakers, by those greedy
dogs. "Among others (says Sewd) one Henry Marshal, having
several benefices — yet how great soever his revenues were, kept
poor people of that persuasion in prison for not paying tithes to
him: and once he said, from the pulpit, that not one Quaker
should be left alive in England." And the bishop of Peterbo-
rough said publicly — " When the parliament sits again, a stronger
law will be made, not only to take away their lands and goods,
but also to sell them for bond slaves."
15. Thus the churchmen blew the fire of persecution, and
kindled so high a flame in the breasts of unmerciful statesmen,
that, Justice Penniston Whalley, who had fined many of
those called Quakers for attending their religious meetings, en-
couraged the people at the sessions to persecute the Quakers
lbid.p.486. without pity, saying, "Harden your hearts against them, for
the act of the thirty-fifth of Q. Elizabeth, is not made against
the Papists; since the church of Rome is a true church, as
Well as any other church ; but the Quakers are erroneous and
seditious persons."
16. And again, at the trial of William Penn, the recorder of
the court ventured to say, "Till now I never understood the
reason of the policy and prudence of the Spaniards in suffering
the Inquisition among them. And certainly it will never be
well with us, till something like the Spanish inquisition, be in
England." The fact is, they never had been without something
like it, during the whole progress of the Reformation, as their
own histories, creeds, and confessions abundantly declare.
17. The same histories, creeds and confessions, with the im-
partial records of other writers, make it also most pointedly
manifest, that there is no essential difference between the spirit
and conduct of the Protestant reformers, and those infernal and
beastly cruelties practised in the darkest ages of popery, and
that they, as well as their Catholic ancestor, gloried in nothing
greater than in building up their Zion with blood.
18. We shall now leave Europe, and trace the conduct of those
famous Protestants who called themselves Puritans, who fled
from the iron arm of persecution at home, and crossed the
Atlantic, to find liberty of conscience in the destined land of
American freedom.
B. VI. PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS. oil
19. The persecution of the Quakers in New England, under c"fjp-
the established hierarchy of governor John Endicot, priests
Norton, Wilson, and others, differed from those before mentioned,
only as a small stream differs from a great flood. The same
spirit prevailed, and the same cruelties were exercised: such as,
imprisoning, fining, confiscation of goods, banishing, unmerciful
scourging, burning with hot iron, cutting off ears, and destroying
their innocent lives by the ignominious gallows.
20. These detestable scenes of more than savage barbarity, Sewel'a
began in the month of July, 1656. Marij Fisher and Ann i57lory,p'
Austin having arrived in the road before Boston, the deputy
governor Bellmgham, had them brought on shore, and committed
to prison, as Quakers. They were stript naked, under pretence
of knowing whether they were witches, "and in this search,
(says Sewel,) they were so barbarously misused that modesty
forbids to mention it." After about five weeks imprisonment,
they were sent back to Old England, their beds and bibles
being taken by the jailor for his fees.
21. Scarce a month after, eight others of those called Quakers
came ; they were locked up in the same manner as the former ;
and after about eleven weeks stay, were sent back. John
Endicot bid them " Take heed that ye break not our ecclesias-
tical laws, for then ye are sure to stretch by the halter."
22. Then a law was made to prohibit all masters of ships from
bringing any Quakers into that jurisdiction. Nicholas Upsal, a
member of the church, and a man of unblameable character, for
speaking against such proceedings, was fined twenty-three pounds,
and imprisoned also for not coming to church; next they
banished him out of their jurisdiction ; and though a weakly old
man, yet he was forced to depart in the winter. Nicholas after-
wards met with an Indian prince, who having understood how he
had been used, offered to make him a warm house ; and further
said, " What a God have the English, xcho deal so icith one
another about their God! " *
23. The following year, 1657, Anne Burden and Mary Dyer ibid. p igs,
were imprisoned at Boston ; and Mary Clark, for warning these im-
persecutors to desist from their iniquity, was unmercifully re-
* Candid reader, pause and consider, which of these conducted the most like
real Christians, those unmerciful persecutors, or this untutord savage, as they
would call him; and which had the best credentials for the kingdom of God,
according to the words of Christ. (See Math. xxv. 34, to the end.) Yet the
former has been the general characteristic of the spirit of orthodoxy, from the time
the term was invented to the present day, and which its votaries have never
failed to put ia practice, as far as they had the power.
These cruel persecutors were the Puritan fathers so much extolled, who fled from
the land of oppression; and so it continues, even in the present time, under the
professed liberal constitutions of this land! as facts, though artfully disguised,
abundantly prove. And it is evident, that nothing but the divided state of pro-
fessors, prevents similar scenes being again enacted in full force, as the horrid
tragedy of the Salem witchcraft and the unmerciful persecution of the Quakers.
312
PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS.
B. VI.
chap.
xii.
* See Rev
ii. 10.
Ibid.
192.
Ibid.
191.
warded with twenty stripes of a three corded whip on her naked
backhand detained in prison about three months in the winter
season. [* The cords of these whips were commonly as thick as
a man's little finger, each having some knots at the end.
24. Christopher Holder and John Copeland were whipt at
Boston the same year, each thirty stripes with a knotted whip of
three cords, the hangman measuring his ground and fetching the
strokes with all the force he could, which so cruelly cut their
flesh, that a woman seeing it, fell down for dead. Then they
were locked up in prison and kept three days without food, or so
much as a drink of water, and detained in prison nine weeks in
the cold winter season, without fire, bed, or straw.
25. Laiorence and Cassandra Southick, and their son Josiah,
being carried to Boston, were all of them, notwithstanding the
old age of the two, sent to the house of correction, and whipt
with cords as those before, in the coldest season of the year, and
had taken from them to the value of four pounds ten shillings, for
not coming to church.
26. In the year 1658, a law was made, which, besides imposing
heavy penalties and imprisonments, extended to working in the
house of correction, severe whipping, cutting off ears, and boring
through their tongues with a red hot iron, whether male or
female, and such like inhuman barbarities.
27. The same year, William Brend and William Leddra,
came to Newbury ; thence they were carried to Boston, to the
house of correction, to work there ; but they, unwilling to submit
thereto, were kept five days without any food, and then beaten
twenty strokes each with a three-corded whip.
28. Next they were put into irons, neck and heels so close
together, that there was no more room left between, than for the
lock that fastened them, and kept in that situation sixteen hours,
p. 191, and then brought to the mill to work ; but Brend refusing, was
beaten by the inhuman jailor, with a pitched rope, more than a
hundred strokes, till his flesh was bruised into a jelly, his body
turned cold, and for some time he had neither seeing, feeling, nor
hearing.
29. The high priest, John Norton, was heard to say, " Wil-
liam Brend endeavored to beat our Gospel ordinances black and
blue, if then he be beaten black and bine, it is but just upon him;
and, I will appear in the behalf of him that did so." Bloody
priest ! Who will appear in thy behalf, at the great tribunal of
Almighty G-od ?
30. In the same year, John Copeland, Christopher Holder,
and John Rous were taken up, and in a private manner had their
right ears cut off by authority. And, as if these inhuman bar-
barities were not sufficient, John Norton, and other priests
petitioned for a law to banish the Quakers, on pain of death.
Sewel's
History, p.
19] .
p. 193,
B. VI.
PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS.
513
The petition was granted October 20th, 1658, by the court of
Boston. A short extract of the law is as follows.
31. "Whereas there is a pernicious sect, (commonly called
Quakers) who take upon them to change and alter the received
laudable customs of our nation, and also to destroy the order of
the churches, by denying all established forms of worship [*]
For prevention thereof, this court doth order and enact, that
every person or persons, being convicted to be of the sect of the
Quakers, shall be sentenced to be banished upon pain of death."
CHAP.
XII.
52. Daniel and Provided Southick, son and
daughter
to
* See Acts,
vi. 14. ic
xvi. 20, 21.
Sewel's
Lawrence and Cassandra, not frequenting the assemblies of such **»tory, p.
a persecuting generation, were fined ten pounds, though it was
well known they had no estate, their parents being already
brought to poverty by their rapacious persecutors. To get this
money, the general court at Boston issued out an order, by
which the treasurers of the several counties were empowered
to sell the said persons to any of the English nation at Virginia,
or Barbadoes, to answer the said fines.
33. William Maston, at Hampton, was fined ten pounds for
two books found in his house, five pounds for not frequenting
their church, and three pounds besides as due to the priest ; for
which fines he had taken from him, what amounted to more than
twenty pounds. Not long after, above a thousand pounds were
taken from some, only because they had separated themselves
from the persecuting church.
34. Thomas Prince, governor of Plymouth, was heard to ibid. p. 219.
say, That in his conscience the Quakers were such a people as
deserved to be destroyed, they, their wives and, children, their
houses and lands, without pity or mercy. Humphrey Norton at
New-Haven, for being a Quaker, was severely whipt, and burnt
in the hand with the letter H. to signify heretic.
35. The unjust and bloody sentence of death was executed ibid, p.226.
upon William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson, the 27th
of October, 1659. When they were come near the gallows, the
priest [ Wilson] tauntingly said to Robinson, " Shall such Jacks
as you come in before authority, with their hats onV To which
Robinson replied, " Mind you, mind you, it is for the not putting
off the hat we are put to death ! "
36. The persons that were hanged, were barbarously used —
even their shirts were ripped off with a knife, and their naked
bodies cast into a hole that was dug, without any covering. And
priest Wilson makes a ballad on them. On the 31st of the third
month, 1660, Mary Dyer was sentenced to death by Endicot, ibid. p. 264.
and the next day executed. William Leddra returned to Bostoii,
was cast into an open prison, and locked in chains day and night,
in a very cold winter, and was sentenced to death, and executed
on the 14th of the first month, 1661.
21
314
PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS.
B. VI.
CHAP.
XII.
Sewel's
History,
p. 272, 324.
Dec. 22d,
1662.
* See Jer.
xx. 1, 2. &
Acts, xvi.
24.
37. Many, both men and women, were stripped naked from
the waist and upward, tied to the cart-tail and scourged in the
most brutal and barbarous manner, while the priests, who were
the principal instigators to such more than savage meanness, were
pleased in nothing better than in the exercise of such antichristian
and diabolical cruelties.
38. Peter Pearson and Judith Brovcn, being stript to the
waist, were fastened to a cart-tail, and whipt through the town
of Boston. Also Josiah Southick was stript and led through the
streets of Boston at the cart-tail, and vehemently scourged by
the hangman. The same day he was whipt at Roxbury, and the
next morning at Bedham. The whip used for these cruel execu-
tions, was not of whip cord, but of dried guts ; and each string
with three knots at the end.
39. At Bover, Anne Coleman, Mary Tomlrins, and Alice
Ambrose, were sentenced to be fastened to the cart-tail, and
whipped on their naked backs, through eleven towns, a distance of
near eighty miles. Then in a very cold day, the deputy, Walden,
at Bover, caused these women to be stript naked, from the middle
upward, and tied to a cart, and then whipt them, while the priest
looked on and, laughed at it. Two of their friends testified
against Waldeiis cruelty, for which they were put in the
stocks.*
40. The women were carried to Hampton, and there whipt —
from thence to Salsbury and again whipt. William Barefoot at
length obtained the warrant from the constable and let them go
the priest advising to the contrary. Not long after, these women
returned to Bover, and were again seized, while in meeting, and
barbarously dragged about at the instigation of [a man falsely
called] Hate-evil Nutwell, a ruling elder.!
41. Afterwards, Anne Coleman, and four of her friends were
whipped through Salon, Boston, and Bedham, by order of Haiv-
ihorn, the magistrate. Anne Coleman was a little, weakly woman;
Bellingham encouraging the executioner while she was fastening
to the cart at Bedham, he laid on so severely, that with the knot
of the whip he split the nipple of her breast, which so tortured
her, that it almost took away her life.
42. These are a few instances out of many, of those diabolical,
beastly, and more than savage cruelties, which were exercised
by those who pretended that for conscience sake they had chosen
f The barbarity of their persecutors, on this occasion, exceeds all description.
Being seized in meeting, while on their knees in prayer, they were dragged by
their arms nearly a mile, through a deep snow, across fields and over stumps, by
which they were much bruised. The next day they were barbarously dragged
down a steep hill to the water side, and threatened with drowning, and one of
them was actually plunged into the water, when a sudden shower obliged them to
retreat. At length, after much abuse, these poor victims of orthodox barbarity,
were turned out of doors at midnight, and with their clothes wet and frozen, were
obliged to suffer the inclemency of a severe winter's night.
B. VI. PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS. 315
the wilderness of America ! And such were the fruits of the Pro- c^ff'
testant religion in its greatest purity. Let them cease to — 1 \ —
disgrace the name of Jesus ; they never knew him, but were the
great-grand children of those who persecuted- the prophets — they
were the posterity of Cain — walking in the way of Balaam —
raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame.
43. To the above matters of fact may be added the following
just remark inserted in the History of Redemption. After speak- Hist, of Re-
ing of the persecutions and oppressions in the times of the ^"^oto
Stuarts, and the tyranny of archbishop Laud and his furious [c].
associates, the writer observes, that "persecution has not been
confined to such men: every sect (says he) and some of the best
men in each have engaged in this diabolical business. With what
bitterness did the Lutherans, Zuinglians, and Calvinists, and
other parties of the reformers, abuse, imprison, and banish each
other, is too well attested by ecclesiastical historians of the six-
teenth century, to be denied."
44. " Not to mention the blood of sectaries unjustly shed at
home and abroad ; not only did the Episcopalians in England per-
secute the dissenters; but in Scotland, and during the com-
monwealth in England, these persecuted the Episcopalians.
And what is perhaps more extraordinary, even in New Eng-
land, where the first colonists fled from the iron hand of
oppression at home, theydpersecuted the Quakers and others
who differed from their establishment. How, then (adds the
writer) shall we account for these enormities, but upon the
principle — that it proceeds from the general depravity of human
nature.'1''
45. And a general depravity it is, when the best men, in all
their established sects and parties, are, by the confession of their
own writers, diabolical persecutors. And if persecution is a
diabolical, or devilish work, well said Christ of such, Ye are of seeJohn,
your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do : v"1-33"44-
he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him.
46. Yet, by all these most horrid cruelties and abominable
works, they established, what is called the Christian World,
upon the principles of false teachers, corrupted priests, bloody
emperors, imperious popes, and diabolical persecutors, including
the ecclesiastical tyrants of every age, from Constantine down
to John Norton, and the rest of the Protestant priesthood, under
Governor Endicot.
47. But their diabolical works unmask their Christianity, and
by the light of the sun of righteousness, the foundations of their
world are discovered, which have been long kept in store, reserved 2 Peter, iii.
unto fire, against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly
men.
316 PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS. E. VI.
CxhP" ^' ^an(^^ reader, let it be engraven on your heart, never to
, ! be erased ; let it be impressed on your mind, never to be forgot-
ten; that the true cburch, the true followers of Christ never
persecuted any !
49. After tracing the long line of succession, through the per-
secuting and corrupt hierarchy, from Constantine to the Popes,
and from the Popes to Luther and Calvin, and from them down
to John Norton, and the rest of the persecuting crew under
governor John Endicot, what rational mind can believe that
true Christianity can, or ever could be propagated, or any true
church ever descend from such a horrible and corrupt source?
Nay, never. As well might we believe that Satan can propagate
holi?iess, mercy, and love; and that the peaceable kingdom of
Christ can be established by hypocrisy, falsehood, and blood.
THE TESTIMONY
or
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
BOOK VII.
THE EXTENT AND DURATION OF WHAT IS CALLED THE
CHRISTIAN WORLD.
CHAPTER I.
WORLDLY CHRISTIANS CONTRASTED WITH VIRTUOUS BE-
LIEVERS IN CHRIST.
The disciples of Jesus Christ, or learners of the Gospel, were first chap. i.
called Christians at Antioch. Under this name all were, in pro-
cess of time included, who professed to believe that Jesus was
the promised Messiah. But when antichrist arose, and assumed
the name and authority of Christ, he was properly a false Christ,
and his disciples of course must be false Christians ; therefore
the Christian world must mean that world of Christians who
are the followers of a false Christ, and who " wondered after the
beast;" while such as retained a measure of the true Christian
faith and practice, must be called by some other name.
2. From what has been already stated, concerning the rise and
progress of antichrist's dominion, it appears that after the days
of the Apostles, there remained but little room for the pure and
undefiled religion of Jesus, on earth.
3. How far the fire of truth was extinguished, by those floods
of error, which early began to be disgorged by false apostles and
deceitful workers, and how extensively the influence of antichris-
tian corruption prevailed, is particularly worthy of reflection, in
order to discover the real distinction between the multitude who
assumed the name of Christ, and called him Lord, Lord, and the
virtuous few who were careful to do the things that he taught.
4. All that the false spirit could engage in his service, from
his first rise; he did engage, and all that he engaged in his ser-
vice he did corrupt, in the highest degree ; so that in the pro-
31S WORLDLY CHRISTIANS CONTRASTED WITH B. VII.
chap. I. gress of his dominion, as far as his influence extended, hoth men
and things were most effectually changed for the worse.
5. Emperors, kings, and every class of civil rulers, hecame
more tyrannical ; laws and maxims of civil policy more cruel and
oppressive ; soldiers more barbarous ; every kind of craftsmen
more addicted to deception and fraud ; and every art and science
more perverted to the purposes of pride, luxury, and unrighteous
gain.
6. All orders of priesthood were more corrupted, and learned
greater arts of imposition and deceit; the sacred Scriptures were
corrupted from beginning to end, both in the sense and applica-
tion, especially the doctrines of Christ and his Apostles. In a
word, everything that antichrist could get hold of, or in any wise
attach to his corrupt kingdom, whether it related to soul or body,
to faith or practice, to time or eternity, he so corrupted, that the
whole creation was, in a moral sense, removed to a much greater
distance from God.
7. Every age improved upon the corruptions of the past, and
prepared a greater degree of corruption for the following ; and
thus it continued and increased, until all the nations of the earth
were corrupted; and, as far as antichrist's claim extended,
nothing escaped his poisonous and corrupting influence, save
those few enlightened souls who were willing to face death in all
its most frightful forms, rather than come under his dominion.
8. Amidst all the presumptuous claims and high pretensions
of the false spirit, by which the world was deceived, God did re-
serve the spirit of faith and of true virtue in his own power, and
whenever it was poured out upon any people, the life and sub-
stance of that spirit was out of the deceiver's reach.
9. True, he could torture the bodies, corrupt and pervert
the words, and maliciously misrepresent the actions of those who
possessed that spirit ; but the spirit itself, by which they spake
and were actuated, remained uncorrupted and undefiled through
the whole of his pernicious reign, and is to this day, wherever
it is found, a swift witness against all his deceitful claims to or-
thodoxy, and all his beastly works.
10. Yet it will not be denied that a false Christ often had
power to corrupt by flatteries, and draw into his communion,
many who had, for a time, been actuated by the spirit of truth,
and bore a swift testimony against error and vice. Whole socie-
ties of such were frequently overcome by the beast, and swal-
lowed up in the general mass of corruption.
11. But the spirit of truth never could he overcome, nor led
captive with them ; but would again raise up others of the same
description, separate from the catholic kingdom ; and thus a
measure of the true work of God, and the fruits of the spirit of
truth, from time to time appeared, and stood as a monument, to
B. VII. VIRTUOUS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST. 319
condemn the universal corruptions of a false religion, which over- chap. i.
spread the earth under the name of Christianity.
12. Therefore, for the truth's eake, we are bound to distin-
guish between that spirit Avhich ruled the motley mixture of
Pagans, Jews, and pretended Christians, and that very different
spirit which, in a separate and distinct people, was all along dis-
tinguished by the fruits of mortification and abstinence, piety,
virtue, innocence, and simplicity of manners.
18 Cerdon, Marcio?/., Mani, Novation, Hierax, Priscillian,
and those who followed their example, would doubtless furnish a
very different history from that of the contending philosophers,
emperors, and popes, were their sentiments, their lives, and their
actions justly recorded. Even the small traces of virtue, that
have been transmitted down through the writings of their adver-
saries, are sufficient to show the striking contrast that existed
between them and the great Christian hierarchy.
14. Under the various names of Marcionites, Manicheans,
Priscillia?iists, Bogomilans, Cathari, Beghards, Picards, Wal-
de?ises, Albigenses, Anabaptists, fyc, there appeared, at differ-
ent periods, a people who bore a striking resemblance to each
other, both in their faith and manners.
15. They considered Jesus Christ not as the founder of a tem-
poral hierarchy, but as a pattern of piety and virtue : hence they
placed religion not so much in doctrines and outward forms of
worship, as in purity of heart and a virtuous practice ; and
therefore they bore a uniform testimony against vice, and the
established orthodoxy of the standing priesthood.
16. Many of them chose a life of continence, others did not :
they allowed each other liberty of conscience, that each might
live according to their own faith, and they persecuted none
who differed from them. They took no oaths, bore no arms, and
patiently endured persecution for the testimony ?vhich they
held.
17. And what was all this, but a standing memorial of the nature
and tendency of the true Gospel, and a witness against the corrupt
religion established by human authority ? Not that either the doc-
trine or manners of those virtuous people were formed into any sys-
tem, or conveyed, by any external authority, from one to another ;
but being influenced by the same invisible Spirit, however discon-
nected they might have been, as to external things, their faith and
practice were essentially the same in nature, though not always in
degree.
18. Wherever such a faith and practice were manifested, they
never failed to reprove and condemn that which was of a contrary
nature ; and such was then the true work of God for that pur-
pose ; therefore, as vice and wickedness increased among the
professed orthodox Christians, virtue was elsewhere practised,
320
WORLDLY CHRISTIANS CONTRASTED WITH B. VII.
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 1U7.
chap. I. under some other name, sufficient in degree to expose the king-
dom of the beast in its proper colors.
19. Thus, while the door of the Catholic church stood open to
all characters, and the universal depravity of priests and people
destroyed every real distinction between virtue and vice in that
apartment, the people taught by Novatian, stood as a living re-
proof of their libertine government. Some exclaimed, "It is a
barbarous discipline to refuse to re-admit people into Christian
communion because they have lapsed into idolatry and vice."
Others, finding the inconvenience of such a lax discipline, re-
quired a repentance of five, ten, or fifteen years.
20. But the Novatians said, "If you be a virtuous believer,
and will accede to our confederacy against sin, you may be
admitted among vis by baptism, or if any Catholic has baptized
you before, by re-baptism. But mark this, if you violate the
contract by lapsing into idolatry and vice, we shall separate you
from our community, and, do what you will, we shall never re-
admit you. God forbid we should either injure your person,
your property, or your character, or even judge of the truth of
your repentance and your future state : But you can never be
re-admitted to our community without our giving up the best and
only coercive guardian we have of the purity of our morals."*
21. This Novatian discipline, Eusebius says, "-rent the unity
of the church." Truly it showed that the Church of Christ and
a wicked idolatrous world could never be united. But when
antichrist had completed the union between the civil and eccle-
siastical powers, and a whole empire was Christianized at once,
by a mere change of human government, the state of the world,
thus united to the church, might have appeared unspeakably
glorious to the worldly-minded, had not God reserved a people,
whose virtuous practice should expose the universal deception of
the self-styled Catholics
Ibid. p. 194. 22. "Certain it is, (says Robinson,) the virtuous Manicheans
thought they were only Pagan schismatics, acting vice in the
name of the most virtuous of beings, Jesus Christ, whose char-
acter must sink in proportion as theirs rose."
23. Thus Faustus, the Manichean, said to Saint Angustin:
"How dare you call me a Pagan schismatic? The Pagans
honor God, they think, by building temples, by erecting altars
and images, and by offering sacrifices and incense. I have quite
other notions. I consider myself, if I be worthy, a rational
temple of God. I honor Jesus Christ, his Son, as his express
image. A well instructed mind is his altar, and pure and simple
adoration the acceptable sacrifice to God."
•According to Jones, in a work written by Novatian, he shows that it was Christ
who appeared to the Patriarchs, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, &o. See Jones's His.
tory, p. 183.
B. VII.
VIRTUOUS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST.
321
Eccl. Re-
searches,
p. 327.
24. "For your parts, you have substituted the ceremonies of CHAP- L
your love feasts in the place of sacrifices, martyrs instead of
idols, and you honor them as the Pagans do their deities, by
votive offerings. You appease the manes* of the dead by wine * Ghosts.
and festivals. You celebrate the feasts of Paganism by observ-
ing days: and in regard to their morals, you preserve them
entire, and have altered nothing. It is you then, and not loe,
who are Pagan schismatics, and nothing distinguishes you from
the rest of the heathens, but your holding separate assemblies."
25. "You ask me whether I believe the Gospel? Is that a
question to put to a man who observes all the precepts of it ? I
might with propriety put the question to you, because your life
gives no proof of it."
26. "As for me, I have quitted father, mother, and children.
I have renounced all that the Gospel commands me to renounce ;
and you ask me whether I believe the Gospel. I perceive you
do not understand the Gospel, which is nothing but the doctrine
and precepts of Jesus Christ. You see in me the beatitudes
mentioned by Jesus Christ. I am poor in spirit, meek, peaceable,
pure in heart. You see me suffer sorrow, hunger, thirst, perse-
cution, and the hatred of the world for righteousness sake ; yet
you doubt whether I believe the Gospel."
27. "You do not practise the precepts of Christ; and I do
practise them. It must be allowed, you have chosen the easy,
and I the difficult part ; and that Jesus hath not annexed the
promise of salvation to your part; but he hath to mine. He
hath said, Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command
you; but he hath not said, Ye are my friends if ye believe I
was born of a virgin."
28. The analogy between virtuous believers of every age, may
be seen in the general accounts, in history, of heretics, enthu-
siasts and fanatics ; and that such had no relation to the Christian
world, is manifest from the history of persecutions, from Nero,
emperor of Rome, down to John Endicot, Governor of Boston.
29. To be sewed up in the skins of wild beasts, and worried
to death by dogs, or dressed in shirts made stiff with wax and
set on fire, was the fate of heretics under the reign of Nero.
And for what cause was every additional mode of torture em-
ployed by his successors, to extirpate them from the earth ?
imprisoning, scourging, racking, searing, burning, drowning, or
tearing tKem piecemeal with red-hot pincers ? The whole ground
of their hatred may be seen from a few instances of their cruelty.
322 VIRTUOUS BELIEVERS B. VII.
CHAPTER II.
VIRTUOUS RELIEVERS, IN EVERY AGE OF THE CHRISTIAN
ERA, COMPARED WITH WORLDLY CHRISTIAN PROFESSORS.
chap. ii. When the persecution in the second century began to rage at
" Lyons, Epipodius, a young man, was brought before the
governor, and examined in the presence of a crowd of Pagans.
The governor at length took him aside, and with dissembled
kindness, pretended to pity his condition, and intreated him not
to ruin himself by obstinacy.
2. "Our deities (continued he) are worshipped by the greater
part of the people in the universe, and their rulers : we, to
honor them, launch into pleasures ; you, by your faith, are
debarred from all that indulges the senses. Our religion enjoins
feasting, yours fasting ; ours the joys of licentious blandishments,
yours the barren virtue of chastity. Can you expect protection
from one who could not secure himself from the persecution of
a contemptible people ? Then quit a profession of such austerity,
and enjoy those gratifications which the world affords, and which
your youthful years demand."
3. To which Epipodius replied: "Your pretended tenderness
is actual cruelty; and the agreeable life you describe, is replete
with everlasting death. The frame of man being composed of
two parts, body and soul; the first as mean and perishable,
should be rendered subservient to the interests of the last.
Your idolatrous feasts may gratify the mortal, but they injure
WrMit's *ne immortal part: that cannot therefore be enjoying life, which
Manyr. destroys the most valuable moiety of ycur frame : your pleasures
vol 1 Tl Q1 •/■.«/ v a
lead to eternal death, and our pains to perpetual happiness."
For this speech, Epipodius was severely beaten, and then put to
the rack, upon which being stretched, his flesh was torn with
iron hooks, then taken from the rack and beheaded, April 20th,
in the year 179.
ibid. p. 2". 4. About the year 250, " Denisa, a young woman of only six-
teen years of age, was (by order of Optimus, proconsul of Asia)
given up to two libertines, to become the object of their lust ; and
having suffered under their brutality half the night, and being
miraculously delivered, was afterwards beheaded, by order of
the same tyrant."
5. " Agtha, a Cicilian lady, for refusing to gratify the lust-
ful passions of Quintian, the governor of Sicily, was scourged,
ibid. p. as. burnt with hot irons, and torn with sharp hooks, laid naked upon
live coals, and earned thence to prison, where she expired.
B. VII. COMPARED WITH WORLDLY PROFESSORS. 823
Theodora, a beautiful young lady of Antioch, on refusing to chap, ii.
sacrifice to the Roman idols, was condemned to the stews, that
her virtue might he sacrificed to the brutality of lust ; and for
attempting to escape, was beheaded and burnt."
6. Maximilian, a likely youth, about the same time, refusing
to bear arms, and saying, " / am already a soldier of Christ and
cannot sc?ve any other 'power" — was beheaded. And for no
other cause than for a spirit of peace and purity, were the
millions of virtuous believers persecuted to death, in succeeding
ages, by those who deceitfully called themselves Christians.
7. That lying spirit that could convert a vain philosophy into
a gospel, a licentious priesthood into Christian apostles, and a
worse than Pagan hierarchy into the Church of Christ, could
also corrupt the doctrines of the innocent, by deceitful and
mysterious language, and put a false coloring upon the practice
of the virtuous, to blind the eyes of the ignorant, and retain the
world in the fatal snares of vice.
8. Thus, the last degree of antichrist's influence, was in taking
away the key of knowledge, forming a thick veil of prejudice to
cover and hide the only living witnesses of truth, whose faith and
practice, many candid men have fully demonstrated, even from
the records of their persecutors, to have been, of all others, the
nearest transcript of the precepts and example of Christ, in
their day.
9. Dr. Horneck, and after him John Wesley, says, "Not a
few of them renounced the satisfaction of matrimony, lived sin-
gle, forsook all, buried themselves in poor cottages, studied the
Scriptures, contemplated heaven, and thus lived to God alone."
" Some travelled into far countries, preached the Gospel, and when Wcsley'«
they had laid a good foundation there, went further, and spent bl£~ '"oi.
their time in pains and labors, and doing good. Thousands of **ix- p-
their virgins, freely dedicated themselves to God, and would
be married to none but him — and though many times they
were tempted by rich fortunes, yet nothing could alter their
resolutions."
10. The same spirit of virtue is breathed in the words of a
Waldensian preacher, as recorded by Reiner, and quoted by
Robinson. "They (the Papal clergy) are rich and avaricious, of Ecd. Re-
whom the Lord says, Wo tinto you rich, for you have received 3^3^.'^'
your consolation : but we, having food and raiment, are there-
with content.''''
11. "They are voluptuous, and devour widows' houses: we
only eat to be refreshed and supported. They fight and encour-
age war : and command the poor to be killed and burnt, in de-
fiance of that saying, He that taketh the sword shall perish by
the sicord. For our parts, they persecute us for righteousness
sake."
324
VIRTUOUS BELIEVERS
B. VII.
chap. II. 12. "They do nothing ; they cat the bread of idleness : We
work with our hands. They monopolize the giving of instruction,
and wo be to them that take away the key of knowledge : but
among us, women teach as well as men, and one disciple as soon
as he is informed himself, teaches another. And because we are
sincere believers in Christ, and teach and enforce a holy life and
conversation, these scribes and pharisees persecute us to death,
as their predecessors did Jesus Christ."
13. It matters not what changing hypocrites, from age to age,
have called those harmless people, or what slanderous comments
they have formed upon their doctrines and manners. Virtue
itself could never be changed into vice, and wherever it appeared,
it stood as a testimony against them, the noblest work of God
on earth.
Ecci.Re- 14. Robinson, speaking of those virtuous dissenters, in the
searches, P. twelfth century and onward, says, "They condemn the tyranny
and corruptions of a false religion, by a practical Testimony.
They could not be charged with perjury, for they had never
taken oaths, and one of their maxims was, Swear not at all.
Sedition could not be pretended, for they never bore arras. They
could not be awed by one another, for they had no masters ; they
could not be bribed, for they had no necessitous gentry. Filled
with that auspicious freedom which innocence inspires, they had
not even one patron at court, and their whole expectation was
placed on the superintending providence of Cod."
15. Such was the general character of the people, driven from
city to city, from mountain to mountain, and from valley to val-
ley, for many hundred years, under as many names of heresy as
their adversaries chose to invent. "If they were called Mani-
cheans, (says Robinson,) it was because they denied the Catholic
doctrine of the Trinity — and of course believed that Jesus was
a man."
16. Says Rodulpk, "Non credunt filium sequalem patri, quia
dixit, Pater major me est. i.e. They do not believe the Son to
be equal with the Father, because he said, The Father is greater
than I." If they were called Cathari or Gazari, it was because
of their morals — the purity of their lives. They said A Chris-
tian church ought to consist of only good people : The church
ought not to persecute any, even the tvicked."
lbid.p.4io. IT. Sometimes they were called Pat.erines : "This described
their condition in life. They were decent in their deportment,
modest in their dress and discourse. In their conversation there
was no levity, no scurrillity, no detraction, no falsehood, no
swearing. They were chaste and temperate ; not given to anger
or other violent passions."
18. If we compare this character with that of the reformed
Calvinists, given in the words of their own confession, we need
Ibid. p. 406.
Ibid, note
[6].
B. VII. COMPARED WITH WORLDLY PROFESSORS. 325
not wonder that the reformers labored hard to prove their descent chap, ir.
from the persecuted Waldenses. Just so the obscene and wicked
Catholic priests first founded their authority on a claim to their
descent from Jesus and his holy Apostles, and endeavored to
cloak their wickedness under his imputed righteousness, and
condemn their fellow Pagans upon the false presumption of their
sublime descent.
19. In the same manner have the Protestant persecutors
endeavored to cover their abominations under the righteous
character of those whom their fathers persecuted. While they
equal the Papists in all manner of wickedness, they claim the
Catholic authority over them, upon pretence that the true key of
St. Peter was handed down to them through those innocent
people, whom they themselves, on other occasions, will brand as
the worst of heretics. To such miserable artifices has antichrist
been driven to support his orthodoxy !
20. Says Br. Madame, "When the Papists ask us where our Bed. His-
religion zvas before Luther? We generally answer, hi the Bible; $W j°g
[i.e. in the Book; a poor kind of religion!] and we answer well, note [gj.
(says he ;) but to gratify their taste for tradition and human
authority, we may add to this answer, and in the valleys of
Piedmont ;" i.e. among those persecuted heretics the Waldenses.
21. Such an answer may serve to vindicate a religion that be-
gan and continued in false swearing, and is wholly dependent for
merit on the righteousness of another. But unhappily for the
reformers, there were Piedmontese cotemporary with them.
22. Who were those heretics that were extirpated like mad
dogs, by Luther' 's advice, but the heirs of that spirit of liberty,
of innocence and peace, which had been so happily cherished and
preserved, for many ages, in the vallies of Piedmont and the
Pyrenees? Among those persecuted Anabaptists of the sixteenth
century, we find the same characters which the old Waldenses
and Manicheans supported.*
23. Authentic records in France assure us, (says Robi?2son,) Eccl. Re-
that a people of a certain description were driven from thence ||^Tches>P-
in the twelfth century. Bohemian records of equal authority
inform us, that some of the same description arrived in Bohemia
at the same time, and settled near a hundred miles from Prague,
at Satz and Laun on the river Eger, just on the borders of the
kingdom.!
24. Almost two hundred years after, another undoubted
record of the same country, mentions a people of the same
description, some as burnt at Prague, and others as inhabiting
*The reader may find an ample and authentic account of those reputed heretics,
the ancient Waldenses, in the Researches of Robert Robinson under his history
of The Church of Navarre and Biscay, of Italy, and The Valleys of Piedmont.
f This was the time of the most general persecution against the Waldenses or
Picards of the sequestered valleys.
326
VIRTUOUS BELIEVERS
B. VII.
chap. ir.
Eccl. Re-
searches, p.
5'.>4.
Eccl. His-
lory, vol.
iv. p. 452.
* See Isa.
xxxv. 8, 9.
lii. 1. and
Zeph. lii.
13.
the borders of the kingdom. Above two hundred years after
this, in the reign of Ferdinand, emperor of Germany, the same
kind of people existed ; and from the account of Car of a the
Jesuit, more than twenty thousand lived all together in Moravia,
and were, by an edict of the emperor, proscribed and banished
as heretics, under the name of Anabaptists.
25. "The religious character of these people (says Robinson,)
is so very different from all others, that the likeness is not easily
mistaken. They had no priests, but taught one another. They
had no private property, for they held all things jointly. They
executed no offices, and neither exacted nor took oaths. They
bore no arms, and, rather chose to suffer than resist icrong.
They held every thing called religion in the church of Rome, in
abhorrence. They aspired at neither wealth nor power, and
their plan was industry."
26. They lived in forty-five divisions called fraternities, exactly
as their ancestors had done before their banishment from France.
Each of those little corporations consisted of many families, who
held all things common. Under the most aggravated circum-
stances of cruelty, they were obliged to abandon their houses
and lands just at a time their fields were ripe for the harvesting,
and the most deplorable scenes of persecution followed, for seven
successive yeai's.
27. Where, then, appears the difference between those ana-
baptists so cruelly persecuted by the Papists in Bohemia and
Moravia, and those who were, with equal cruelty, massacred and
burnt by Papists and Protestants in Germany ? The fact is, they
sprung from one original stock, were precisely of the same char-
acter, and were, in every respect, as much one people as were
their joint persecutors.
28. It is acknowledged, even by the reformers, that they were
men of upright intentions. Mosheim says, ' ' their common opinions
seem to be all derived from this leading and fundamental princi-
ple, that the kingdom which Christ, established upon earth, is a
visible church, or community , into which the holy and the just
are alone to be admitted, and which is consequently exempt from
all those institutions and rides of discipline, that have been in
vented by human wisdom, for the correction and reformation of
the vncked." This the writer calls a "fanatical principle."*
29. We learn from the same writer, that some of their des-
cendants (the Mmnbnites) would neither admit civil rulers into
their communion, nor allow any of their members to perform the
functions of magistracy. That they denied the lawfulness of
repelling force by force, and considered war, in all its shapes, as
unchristian and unjust : and refused to confirm their testimony
by an oath, upon this foundation, that the perfect members of a
holy church can neither dissemble nor deceive, &c.
Eccl. His-
tory, Tol.
B. VII. COMPARED WITH WORLDLY PROFESSORS. 327
30. These were the incurable heretics destroyed by the Pro- chap, it.
testants ; and their being called incurable heretics, did not make
any difference between them and the ancient inhabitants of the
valleys: for the same who were called Manicheans, Patcrines,
&c, were moreover denominated heretics, (says Robinson;) for
their whole religion implied the belief of some political principles
which v;ere accounted heresy by popes, prelates, viscounts, and
tyrants of every name, and which they avowed when they ivere
interrogated.''''
31. The influence of antichrist, by the united power of
Protestants and Papists went, however, so effectually to extermi-
nate the anabaptists of the sixteenth century, that there remains
no trace of their faith and power under that name. Mosheim
remarks, " that since they have opened their eyes, they acknotc-
ledge that the visible church is promiscuously composed of the *See Eze.
righteous and the wicked, &c."* t
32. Many of those persecuted people who escaped the fire and
sword, and retained any measure of the true heretical faith and
practice, retired into Poland, and lived there in peace for several
years. But as soon as they began to discover their real princi-
ples, the reformed churches renewed their persecuting zeal, and
"they were again threatened (says Mosheim) with a formidable
prospect arising from the united efforts of Catholics, Lutherans, iv. p. 483.
and Calvinists, to crush their infant sect."
33. However, having completed a translation of the Bible, and
published a summary of their religious doctrines in the year
1572, they obtained a name of distinction among the divided
parties, and are since known in history under the name of
Sociuians : yet it was long before the rage of persecution was
averted from those liberal advocates of the rights of conscience ;
and not till the attention of the Christian world was arrested by
the more extraordinary testimony of George Fox and his friends.
34. About the middle of the seventeenth century, the testi-
mony of these people (called Quakers) broke forth with increasing
light and power, beyond what had ever appeared among any people
since the days of the primitive church. This was manifested, not
only by their powerful testimony against the iniquities of the
times, the superstitions and vain ceremonies of the established
religions, and the vicious lives of the worldly Christians: but by
the inflexible course of virtue which they maintained, in the
midst of a crooked, perverse and persecuting generation.
35. The Quakers, so called, besides the charges of heresy
common in past ages, such as holding the doctrine of a pure
\ Aye, and since these heretics have had their eyes opened, and become like other
men, to bear arms and shed blood, and their church could be " promiscuously com-
posed of the righteous and the wicked," then could the Protestants begin to dis-
own their descent, from the Church of Rome, and claim their descent from the
Apostles, through the descendants of those persecuted heretics of the valleys."
328 THE PRESENT STATE OP B. VII.
chap. in. church upon earth, refusing to swear, to persecute, shed blood,
pay tithes, &c, were particularly branded with enthusiasm, on
account of their doctrine of an inward Christ.
36. To such as had any acquaintance with the writings of the
Apostles, the doctrine, simply considered, could not appear new ;
but the fact was, the day of Christ's second appearing was near at
hand, and these people, by the true spirit of prophecy, had re-
ceived an inward sense of it, and as Christ is actually formed in
the hearts of his people, they neither knew nor could testify of
any other than Christ within.
37. And for this very purpose they were raised up, by the
special power of God, and qualified by the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, not only to bear a full and pointed testimony
against all the corrupt and antichristian establishments of both
Papists and Protestants, but also to announce their certain
downfall, and the setting up of that everlasting kingdom of
Christ which should be established in the latter day.
38. And, when we consider the sufferings of these people, both
in Europe and America, for the honesty and integrity of their
lives, the innocence and simplicity of their manners, the marked
distinction between them and the great Christian world must be
evident, without any other comment.
CHAPTER III.
REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF THE CHRISTIAN
WORLD.
Among the various religions adopted by the lost nations of the
earth, a profession of Christianity doubtless has the most
plausible pretence to divine authority, inasmuch as it claims
for its original author, Jesus Christ, who was manifested as the
Son of God. But, if Christianity, as professed in the world,
with all its superior pretensions, has not delivered its subjects
from the deplorable effects of the fall, it is easy to judge in what
state the whole world must be.
Grounds of 2. The present popish profession of Catholic faith says : / ac-
5.al ' P' knowledge the holy, Catholic, apostolic, Roman church for the
ConTF mother and mistress of all churches. The present Protestant
ch. xxv. confession of faith says : The visible church, which is also Ca-
B. VII. THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 329
tholic or universal — consists of all those throughout the world, chap. hi.
that profess the true religion, together with their children.
3. These two great oracles of Christianity have a rio-ht to
mark the extent of the Christian world, which, according to the
above, must include the church of Rome, with all her daughters,
and all those throughout the world who profess the true religion,
(as they call it) with their children.
4. The very foundation, principles, and progress of Papists
and Protestants, and dissenters of past ages, have been already
made clear, from their own writings, to have been a very sink of
corruption, calamity, and cruelty to mankind : it now remains to
examine, after so long a time, and so much reforming, what the
present world of Christians possess, that distinguishes them from
the past, or from the rest of the human race.
5. How much soever these Catholic professors differ among
themselves, there are certain fundamental principles in which
they hold each a visible agreement as to distinguish themselves,
and each other, from heathens, infidels, heretics, and incurable
fanatics; and these professed general Christian principles are
such as respect their faith, their rules of church government, and
their morals.
6. It would be unncessary to make any further remarks on the
established faith, government, and morals of the mother church,
and her immediate daughters, as they have so abundantly
exposed each other, and are so universally known : the only part
of the Christian world which can promise any thing better to
mankind, are those denominations which have dissented from
both, and have reformed the same Christianity more to the taste
of the present times.
7. Modern Christians, forced by the progress of civil and re-
ligious liberty, will acknowledge that their forefathers were very
wrong in many things ; but what is their Christianity better, while
the same faith, the same principles of government, and the same
manners, exist in all their churches ?
8. In professing the present true Christian religion, so called,
it is absolutely necessary to profess a belief of Three persons in
the Godhead; of two natures in Christ ; Imputed righteousness ;
the Resurrection of all human bodies, the same in substance ; the
establishment of a visible kingdom by the imperial power of
Christ at the last day ; and such fundamental doctrines as were
held sacred by Saint Augustin, Leo the Great, Doctor
Martin Luther, Bishop Calvin, and the true Catholic church
in every age.
9. These same doctrines that smothered every principle of
reason, and inflamed the passions of mankind to fill the earth
with bloodshed and cruelty, are considered as the only sound
Christian principles of the present day, as may be seen in all
22
330 THE PRESENT STATE OP B. VII.
chap. in. tiiejr modern creeds: and no more altered are their present
means of christianizing, or their principles of church government.*
10. All that were born after the flesh in the mother church,
were christened by an outward ceremony. By the outward
rite of baptism, and the sign of the cross on the forehead, they
were received as members of the Protestant church ; and at
Directory present the most reformed institution for christening is, the min-
c hap. vii. ister is to baptize the child with water, by pouring or sprink-
ling it on the face of the child. In this way the church is
increased, for every baptized person, who has not been formally
excommunicated, is a lawful member. In this; present Christi-
anity differs nothing from the past.
11. As to government, a majority always ruled in the Christian
world, the stronger tyrannized over the weaker; and, upon the
same principle, the Christian parties of the present day, only
want the necessary means in order to christianize and convert the
nations over again after the old fashion.
12. Every sect and denomination claim the ancient ecclesias-
tical power: .Presbyterian bishops have been duly consecrated
by the authority of the national kirk of Scotland, whose minis-
ters were duly ordained according to the church laws of Geneva,
and her great bishop, Calvin, received his holy orders from
the pope.
13. In the same manner the Episcopalian, or bishop-ruled
Methodists are duly ordained by the laying on of the hands of
one who was duly consecrated by the laying on of the hands of
John Wesley, whose holy orders were duly transmitted from
Bishop Cranmer, who was consecrated by the pope: And so
of the rest. And what is their laying on of hands without the
Holy Spirit, but a mock to God and man ?
14. Hence those consecrated rulers not only exercise their sup-
posed ecclesiastical powers in their general assemblies, sy?wds,
presbyteries, consistories, conferences, associations and congre-
gational assemblies, but by insinuating themselves, or their
admirers into the affairs of civil government, on every occasion .
that offers, they manifestly show their disposition to seize the
old despotic reins, and rule the church and world in one, had
they only the opportunity.
15. But until these divided and subdivided dissenters can
show other distinguishing marks of their true religion, than those
doctrines and powers of government which they received from
their mother Protestant or Popish churches, the infidels and free-
thinkers of the present day will very justly hold them in suspicion.
* Although, in consequence of the progress of civilization, and the prevalence
of civil liberty, there is an abatement of ecclesiastical tyranny arid rigorous com-
punction; yet human power and human authority are the means used, instead of
the authority and power of God ; and the subjects are required to subscribe human
creeds, and observe human ceremonies, as the conditions of salvation.
B. VII.
THE CHRISTIAN WORLD.
331
16. Forced by the changes in civil government to conform, chap, hi.
they may give their voice in favor of liberty, and show such re-
spect to the spirit of the times as to expunge from the creeds
and common prayer books of their fathers, those despotic sen-
timents, so hateful to every just man ; but in all this they only
act the harlot, who willingly changes her dress in order to win
the affection of her lovers.
17. It is well known that the Augsburg confession, the Form,
of Concord, the true religion at Geneva, of the church of Scot-
land, or of Queen Elizabeth, could never be admitted into
any republic without a very material change in its outward dress ;
but reform and change it as they will, it is still the same true
Christian religion, the only face of kirk, out- of which there is
no possibility of salvation* (as she says,) and therefore her
that the civil rulers of the earth
that a nation misht be born in a
pitiful crocodile prayer is, O
would fall in love with me !
day, and kingdoms at once.
18. But after all, it is a fact that the most polished of those
reformers and conformers never granted nor promoted the reli-
gious liberty of the present day ; this change was effected, by
the order of Divine Providence, in the hearts of the civil rulers
of the earth.
19. When George Washington, that justly respected pat-
riot, stood forth at the head of a great nation in the cause of
liberty, and Christians on both sides of the Atlantic, implored
each their God to go forth with their respective armies, it was
not in answer to the prayers of these divided hypocrites that the
contest was decided ; but when the European God was obliged
to give up his despotic reins, then, indeed, the European creeds
must be new modelled by American ecclesiastics, to suit the
government of the most powerful deity.
20. Neither was it in a general council of Christian bishops,
but of noble advocates of civil and religious liberty, that the
wise and generous Washington, established the rights of con-
science by a just and equitable Constitution. And truly, if the
rights of conscience are still respected under the present admin-
istration, we are not indebted to ecclesiastical tyrants for the
privilege ; for such never will respect nor promote an establish-
ment which has a tendency to diminish the current of their un-
righteous gain, by allowing every one to think and act for
themselves in matters of religion.
21. As to doctrine and discipline, the world of mankind never
was, nor ever will be benefited by such a consecrated priesthood,
nor such a Christian religion. The only remaining point to be
considered, is the morals of those who profess this true religion,
so called, and their children.
22. The common objection, even of infidels, so called, against
* Amer.
Conf. V.
chap. xxv.
Isa. lxvi 8.
perverted.
332 THE PRESENT STATE OP B. VII.
chap. in. Christianity, is the immoral influence it has upon the lives of
Christian its professors. To which a late writer replies — " If any who
Panoply, p. take to themselves the Christian name live immorally, it cannot
3-30 • •
be the fault of Christianity.'''' By this kind of reasoning, false
Christianity has, for many ages, been kept alive amidst all the
abominations that have overspread the Christian world.
23. They say, their true religion was in the Bible before Lu-
ther ; and if true religion it is, it must be there yet ; for they
have never brought it out in their lives, to answer the above ob-
jection of the unbeliever. The last covering for their benign
gospel, and their saving faith, is to divide the charge of gross
immorality among divided sects and party names, so as to pre-
serve the common Christian profession unspotted.
24. The divided sects can reproach one another with the most
oprobious names and epithets ; but these hard names and re-
proachful terms they seem to think are no discredit to the true
Christian religion, so long as it can be kept in the Bible; there-
fore, when the Bible and its true religion are rejected by sensible
unbelievers at home, they must be sent abroad to convert and
Christianize the heathen ; but even the Indians themselves can
see the deception ; so that the Christian missionary finds as sen-
sible infidels there, as at home; as appears from the following
remarks of a late writer on the Journal of D. Brainerd.
Hist.ofRe- 25. "Their grand question, What has become of their fore-
demp p. fathers, is not easily answered. They were good men, (say they,)
l ]. and we will follow them; we doubt not but they were happy
without this neio religion, why then should we embrace it ? But
their most important objection (says the writer) is drawn from
the vicious lives of nominal Christians. Christian religion!
Devil religion! (say they) Christian much drunk; Christian
much do wrong, much beat, much abuse others.'''1 — "Truly it is
a sad sight (says one,) to behold a drunken Christian, and a
sober Indian an Indian just in his dealings, and a Christian
not so ; a laborious Indian and an idle Christian, &c. 0 what
a sad thing it is for Christians to come short of heathens even in
moralities ! "
26. Then in vain do such Christians try to justify their prin-
ciples, while they themselves condemn their own practice. Thus,
corrupt maimers as evidently flow from their true religion, as
practice naturally flows from principle. Nor need they refer to
the Bible for their Christianity, for neither the name nor the
thing is there ; but it is found in their confessions of faith, which
make every provision and allowance for their worse than heathen-
ish practices.
Amer. 27. By original corruption they say, " we are utterly indisposed,
Chap. vi. disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined
to all evil" — and, " this corruption of nature during this
B. VII. THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 333
life, doth remain in those that are regenerated.'1'' And further, chap.iii.
" no man is able, either of himself, or by any grace received in Larg. Cat.
this life, perfectly to keep the commandments of God ; but doth Q' 149-
daily break them, in thought, word, and deed."
28. This is called genuine Christianity ; and is a suitable
pretext for all the aggravated sins of those Christians who are of
riper age, greater experience, or grace, eminent for profession, ibid. q.
gifts, place, office, guides to others, <§-c., and which are commit- 5 '
ted as they express it, against means, mercies, jmlgmcnts, light
of nature, conviction of conscience, public or private admonition,
censures of the church, civil punishments ; and against their
own prayers, purposes, promises, voivs, covenants, and engage-
ments to God or men ; done deliberately, wilfully, presumptu-
ously, impudently, boastingly , maliciously , frequently , obstinate-
ly, with delight, continuance, or relapsing after repentance fyc,
Sf-c, Src.
29. Now go, saith the man of God, write it before them in a isa. xxx s,
table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come '
for ever and ever ; that this is a rebellious people, lying children,
children that will not hear the law of the Lord.
30. Professed Christians of the present day have learned the
art of dissenting from one another, and new modelling their
doctrines so cunningly, that probably many would not openly
avow the above articles of faith.
31. Many of the followers of John Wesley, George White-
field, and others, talk of Christian perfection — a possibility of
living without sin; and doubtless many of them, under the in-
fluence of sentiments borrowed from the Scriptures of truth, under
deep conviction and ardent struggles, have felt a great deliver-
ance, as they supposed, from the power of sin, so as, for a season,
to abstain from every appearance of evil in their knowledge.
32. Yet however, the stream of conviction, or of comfort and
consolation, might flow from breast to breast, and whatever tem-
porary fruits it might produce, the pool of natural corruption still
remained, which is evident from their own prayers to be delivered
from the last and least remains of sin.
33. No stream can rise higher than its fountain-head ; and
whether John Wesley himself attained that perfection which he
preached, has been a question even among his followers. But if
we are to judge from his own writings, it will appear, that his
views of himself were yery different from what many have enter-
tained concerning him.
34. On his passage from America to England, January 1738,
he writes in his journal as follows : "I went to America to con-
vert the Indians: But 0 ! who shall convert me? Who, what is
he that will deliver me from this evil heart of unbelief? I have a
fair summer-religion. I can talk well ; nay, and believe myself
334 . THE PRESENT STATE OP B. VII.
chap, in. -while n0 danger is near ; but let death look me in the face and
my soul is troubled. Nor can I say, to die is gain.'''1
35. The day he landed at Deal, in England, he writes : " It is
now two years, and almost four months, since I left my native
country, in order to teach the Georgian Indians the nature of
Christianity ; but what have I learned myself in the meantime ?
Why, (what I the least of all suspected) that I who went to
America to convert others, was never myself converted to God.
I am not mad, though I thus speak; but, I speak the words of
truth and soberness; if haply some of those who still dream,
may aivahe and see, that as I am, so are they, &c.
36. This, then, have I learned in the ends of the earth; that
I am fallen short of the glory of God ; that my whole heart is
altogether" corrupt and abominable, and consequently my whole
life, (seeing it cannot be that an evil tree should bring forth good
fruit.")*
37. Then if this most eminent branch of the church of Eng-
land, and his fruit, were both corrupt and abominable (and he
* Some have objected that these things were written by AVesley before he was
converted, of course, that we have given a mistaken view of his character ; but,
whether the mistake is in us or those objectors, the following extracts from the
writings of Wesley and others, will show. \ John Wesley professed to be con-
verted in the year 1725, ten years before his voyage to America. In the year
1726, he said: "I determined to be all devoted to God, to give him all my
soul, my body, and my substance." In the year 1729, he saith : "I saw in a
clear and clearer light, the indispensable necessity of having the mind that was
in Christ, and of walking as Christ also walked." On January 1st, 1733, I
preached before the university, the being cleansed from sin, from all filthiness,
both of the flesh and spirit — to be perfect, as our Father in Heaven is perfect."
In 1765, he says : " This is the whole and sole perfection which I have believed
and taught, this forty years, &c."
Now, that John Wesley had true light, and saw the way of God in a measure, is
not disputed ; but whether he ever set his foot in that way, is the question.
That it was his first faith to take up his cross and follow Christ, his own words
fully evince ; but, was it Christ that he followed, when in pointed disunion with
his brother Charles, &c, he married a widow of an independent fortune, of
whom his biographer says — " Had he searched the whole kingdom, he could not
have found a woman more unsuitable." If it was not Christ, but the flesh that
he followed in this step, when did he receive the mind of Christ, of which he
spake ? Or when did he take up his cross against the flesh, or the honors of the
world ? On these points his friends are silent. They tell us of his great talents,
learning, and undaunted zeal, but nothing of his real ii sufferings in the flesh that
he might cease from sin." Is it, then, to be wondered at, that a man of his
light should say, as he did to his friend Bradford, "There are but a few steps be-
tween me and death, and what have I to trust to for salvation ? I can see nothing
which I have done or suffered which will bear looking at. I have no other plea
than this: I, the chief of sinners am. But Jesus died for me."f This was his
only plea to the last imputed righteousness ! the plea of every profligate professor
in the kingdom of antichrist ! Was such the language of St. Paul, when he had
" fought the good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith ?" Nay, verily,
but this great reformer, preaching the saint, and living and dying a sinner, begat
a numerous offspring, who, like their father, profess the wholesome doctrine which
we live, while, in reality, they are as much opposed to the real practice of it, as
any other people in the land.
t See form of discipline, p. 41, 45, and 129.
J Life of AVesley, p. 170, 200.
B. VII. THE CHRISTIAN AVORLD. 335
never was cut off from his union to that church, but lived and chap, hi.
died in her communion) can any of those branches -which have
derived their sap and nourishment from him, be any better ?
38. Thou that talkest of Christian perfection, boast not, for Rom. xi.
thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. And this friendly lb-
caution from the root of one of the most flourishing branches of
the church universal, is according to its original design, inserted
here, if haplv some of those who still dream their self-flattering
dreams, may awake and see that, as the root, so are the branches
— altogether corrupt, and abominable.
39. A late author in defence of Christianity, supposes that, christian
" degenerate as too many professing Christians are, Christianity g.fj1^^'
has nothing to fear from a contrast with unbelievers, in point of
morality." Be it so, it certainly has nothing whereof to boast,
even if it were all true what this writer asserts it has done. " It
has — it has introduced more equality betiveen the two sexes, and
rendered the conjugal union more rational and happy. Having,
therefore, (adds he) weathered all the storms, and sustained
toithout injury, all the assaults of 1800 years, what has she now
to fear lu
40. She, even she, who for more than a thousand years, was
an open public harlot to the kings of the earth, even in the judg-
ment of all her Protestant daughters ! She who now saith in Rev. xviii.
her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no Jj_ *"'
sorrow ! What has she to fear ? but that the same national pow-
ers, that supported her, shall hate the xohore, and shall make her
desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her zoith
fire; for strong is the Lord God who jndgeth her.
41. In point of doctrine, of government, and morals, this true
Catholic Christianity is all of a kind. Examine it from begin-
ning to end, from bottom to top, and from side to side, in all its
branches, it contains the same mystery of iniquity; and in various
degrees, keeps its subjects in bondage to corruption, and under
the dominion of their own lusts.
42. As Christian has descended from Christian by ordinary
generation, and the consecrated fathers have christened their
children with their own hands, as the certain heirs of a future
church; and one bishop (though corrupt and abominable) has
ministered to another, with his defiled hands, his supposed autho-
rity, it is evident that the whole are still under the darkness and
deception of antichrist, and in as deplorable a state of corruption
at this day as ever.*
* " Who are more wofully lost as to all true godliness ; who are more deeply sunk
into sensuality and brutishness, than the generality of so-called Christians ? Nay,
among what sort of men are all manner of abominable wickednesses and villainies to
be found to rise, so much as among them ? upon which account the name of Chris-
tian stinks in the nostrils of the very Jews, Turks, and Pagans. Beastly in-
temperances and uncleanness of all sorts ; the most sordid covetousness ; wretched
336 PROTESTANTISM, THE SYSTEM B. VII.
CHAPTER IV.
PROTESTANTISM THE SYSTEM OF THE SECOND BEAST WHICH
" CAME UP OUT OP THE EARTH."
chap. iv. It may seem a hard saying, that Protestantism, which has been
established above two hundred years, is the beast of the Apoca-
lypse that " came up out of the earth ; " but can it be more surpri-
sing or more grating, than it was to affirm, that Popery, which
for more than a thousand years was deemed the only true reli-
gion, was the beast that "came up out of the sea ? "
2. This the Protestants have not only asserted, but abundantly
proved; and no less evidently do the marks of the second beast,
and the number of his name, apply to Lidherism and Calvinism,
which more or less extend their influence to every dissenting
party.*
injustice; oppressions and cruelties; the most devilish malice, envy and pride ;
the deadliest animosities, the most outrageous feuds, dissensions and rebellions ;
the plainest and grossest idolatry ; highest blasphemies, and most horrid impieties
of all kinds, are in no part of the world more observable than they are in Chris-
tendom ; nor most of them anywhere so observable. [And we may add, this
Christianity has for ages, been the propagator of the most unjust wars and bloody
massacres, far exceeding Turks and Heathens.] Nor can there be an easier task
undertaken than to show, that not a few mere Heathens have behaved themselves
incomparably better towards God, their neighbors, and themselves, than the ge-
nerality of those who are called Christians." Fowler's Design of Christianity,
p. 143, 144.
* The beast which came up out of the earth had two horns like a lamb. _ The
Protestant power was divided into two powers, which had each a separate influ-
ence. The power and influence of the beast was in his horns. A horn, in the
style of the prophets, signifies any power, civil or religious. Two horns like a
lamb, therefore, signify two religious powers into which the beast was divided.
But to whom or to what do these horns apply ? Not indiscriminately to any man,
or set of men; but to the reigning influence of those powers which were propheti-
cally represented by two horns. The Gospel of Christ is the power of Go unto
salvation, to every one that believeth; yet this Gospel cannot be indiscriminately
applied to Jesus Christ, but to that certain power and influence of which he was
the beginning, and which is transmitted to all who believe ; and in proportion as
the gospel directs the mind of a believer, so it influences his will, and leads him
into action, and the first moving cause becomes a real and certain power in his soul,
which saves him from sin, and leads him on in the way of righteousness. Hence
the title of horn is justly applied to the power and influence of the Gospel ; not
^persecuting horn, buta horn of salvation. Again : The little horn of antichrist
which waxed great, cannot be indiscriminately applied to Leo the Great, but to
that certain power and influence which extended down through the line of popes,
and which in pope Leo the first, had its beginning. So the two horns like a lamb
cannot be indiscriminately applied to Luther and Calvin, but to those certain
powers and that religious influence which began in them, and of which they were
the acknowledged founders and promoters. As far then as Lutherism and Cal-
vinism separately influenced the mind and led the subject into action, so far they
separately became real and certain powers. And as far as the subjects of these
powers professed to maintain the Gospel of the meek and lowly Jesus, so far the
beast made his appearance with two horns like a lamb, and being blended with civil
government, and supported by the sword, the beast spake as a dragon. Thus,
Lutherism and Calvinism constitute, and verily are what is signified by St. John's
vision of the beast which had two horns like a lamb, and spake as a dragon.
B. VII.
OP THE SECOND BEAST.
337
Charles V,
vol iii. p.
331.
3. The second beast was to cause an image of the first to be chap, iv.
made ; to give life to the image, and cause that as many as Rev. xiii.
would not worship the image of the beast, should be killed. This 13"18,
did Luther and Calvin, and their followers, by the energy of
the sword; of which their Form of Concord, their creeds and
history of the extirpation of heretics, are an evidence to this
day.
4. The second beast was to do great wonders, and to deceive
them that dwell on the earth by reason of the wonders which he
had power to do. And what was the Reformation from the time
that Luther burnt the laws of his sovereign, but a scene of won-
ders ? a late Protestant writer says, in relation to their defending
their cause by the sword, "They determined not to renounce History of
those religious truths, to the knowledge of which they had at-
tained by means so wonderful" i. e. full of iconders*
5. But how were these wonders and miracles wrought? Ob-
serve, it was in the "sight of men,''' that he " makelh fire to
come down from heaven on the earth;'''' that is to their view and
sense, who were in the nature of the beast, so as to see icith his
sight ; for it was those who dwell on the earth, in the earthly
fallen nature, and covered with the religious profession of the
first beast, which under this specious and gilded cloak, made
provision for all the corrupt propensities of nature.
6. To these only did it appear that the second beast mvL&efire
come down from heaven on the earth, — first by claiming to restore
true Christianity, which came down from heaven by divine fire ;
and thereby whole nations and people, who were under the
dominion of the first beast, were deceived, to make an image,
that is, to form organizations, which they called by the specious
name of Christian churches.
7. But though these names were thus delusive, yet it was
false, for each of these organizations, was but an image of the
universal organization of the first beast, for they all made the
same provision for every property of the corrupt beastly nature,
as did the first or Catholic beast. Hence his subjects were the
more easily drawn into those images, by the delusive flattery,
that according to Scripture evidence, which was given by revela-
tion, or "fire from heaven," they could, without any additional
cross, obtain that salvation which they had learned by experience
they could not find under the Catholic beastly image.
8. " And he had power to give life unto the image of the
beast." This was effected, as before stated, first by laying claim
* Wonders indeed must have greatly abounded, when blood and fire, dispensed
in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, were the wonderful means by
which religious truths were to be maintained, defended and propagated! AVell
might it be said of the beast, that he maketh fire come down from heaven on
the earth, in the sight of men. Surely such miraculous wonders were never in
he power of Pharaoh's magicians !
338
PROTESTANTISM, THE SYSTEM
B. VII.
CHAP. IV.
See Rev.
ch. xiii.
Common
Prayer and
Confession.
W. Conf.
F. Acts of
Assembly
Sess. 26-
1639.
to all former revelation, as contained in the Scriptures, which their
leaders interpreted according to their own " natural sagacity''''
of course in, or according to the sight, and in the life, of the
beast.
9. Second. By causing great excitements in the religious feel-
ings of the minds of men, and thereby producing what is termed
revivals of religion; and when souls are awakened to sense the
need of their being saved from sin, then the influence of this
beast is brought forth, to persuade them that salvation can be
obtained by joining their churches, and believing in their creeds,
which, with an outward profession, cover all the corrupt propen-
sities of nature. Thus this religion is the life of the beast.
10. Therefore, by the means of these operations, those images
have been endowed with the living properties of the beast, that
is, a religion adapted to nature; and thereby have propagated
their own likeness, and perpetuated their names to this day.
11. Thus they are proved to be the true descendants of the, first
beast, and the legitimate daughters of the great ivhore of Babylon.
But those " whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life ;"
that is, such as have light to see and live lthe ife of the Lamb, are
not deceived by this delusive fire, but they are cut off, or killed,
to all the enjoyment of the world, of which the beast can de-
prive them.
12. He was also, to cause all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in
their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that
had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name.
13. By sprinkling a little water or making a sign of a cross
on the forehead, whole Protestant states and kingdoms were
christianized ; and by taking a solemn oath with their right hand
lifted up (the oath or sacrament) they were sealed to full mem-
bership in the national covenant ; and without these distinguish-
ing marks in the forehead, or in the right hand, it is evident,
from all their creeds and confessions, that no one was entitled to
any religious privilege.
14. The anabaptists, for renouncing the mark on the forehead,
were decreed to be rooted out of the Protestant dominions.
Moreover, the civil and ecclesiastical powers ordain and command,
their said confessio?i of faith, fyc, "to be subscribed by all his ma-
jestifs subjects, of w hat rank and quality soever, under all civil
pai?is." They caused all to receive the oath, "all masters of
universities, colleges, and schools ; all scholars at the passing of
their degrees, — and finally all members of the kirk and kingdom."
Thus comprehending under their mane, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond.
15. The Protestant mark, [^apayp-a] character of a Christian,
B. VII. OP THE SECOND BEAST. 339
was always an outward ceremony, oath, or profession ; so they chap, iv.
caused all, both small and great, to receive that Christian char- Rev. xiii.
acter or mark. All masters, and scholars, and ministers, such 16> 17-
as made merchandise of their Gospel, as well as merchants in
burgh, and all who paid rent to the kirk, must have the true
Christian character, the sealing ordinance, the only mark of God's
true religion administered and received.
16. And however formed or reformed, these outward marks,
so long as the dispositions and actions of man are beastly, his
assuming a Christian character, and claiming a relation to Christ,
only distinguishes him, as a wolf in sheep's clothing is distin-
guished from other beasts.
17. Protestants never would admit that man in the present
life, could rise to any thing higher than his own fallen nature, or
be so united to Christ as to become one with him, he must con-
tinue to be fallen man, mere man, a daily transgressor of the
commands of God, and to this they must all covenant and swear,
and the seal of this character is their distinguishing point of
communion.
18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count Rev. xiii.
the number of the beast: and this is easily done, for it is the 18,
number [Gr. av$pwjrx, a?ithro])ou] of man ; not (as many suppose)
particular man, as an individual; but Man in his common
gender, including male and female. Then, as the number of
the beast is the number of man, so the character of the beast
is the character of man, even beastly man in his natural
human depravity, which he established, supported, and ap-
plauded, under a profession of the name of Christ ; and his
name, under this profession, in his common gender, is simply, in
the original Greek, ygs, i.e. Chxist ; and his number six hundred
and sixty-six*
•The ancient Greeks as well as Romans, used the characters of their alphabet
instead of figures to represent numbers. Thus :
The 1st. character X is in number, 600, in the letters of our alphabet, Ch.
The 2d. character g is in number, 60, in the letters of our alphabet, xi.
The 3d. character £ is in number, 6, in the letters of our alphabet, st.
Then by putting these characters together they make CHXIST.
A very specious, but false resemblance of the true CHRIST.
And by addiDg the numbers together they make 666. Thus we see that Chxist
is the name of the beast, and 666 the number of his name. Let him that hath j
understanding to compute his pernicious doctrines, horrid blasphemies, and abom-
inable cruelties, make the application. Here we see that man under the domin-
ion of the beast, is reckoned by sixes. The five physical senses, seeing, hearing
tasting, smelling, and feeling, together with language, which make the six natu- jrcc] jj^
ral powers that form the organization of all natural beings. In this state "man 19.
has no pre-eminence above a beast."
In this state the sacred number seven bcirjg left out, signifies that in that state
he is not governed by intelligent understanding, which is the seventh and high-
est property of his nature, the only recipient of revelation, and that which distin-
guishes him from a beast: And he must be numbered with the beast till h4}
overcomes that beastly nature by the power of revelation.
340 PROTESTANTISM, THE SYSTEM, &C. B. VII.
chap, iv. 19. Thus fallen man, in his most reformed state, is found want-
Gen, vi. 5- ing- When God saw the wickedness of man that it was great,
7- it repented him that he had made man, and he said, I will destroy
.. man. His eyes, in a former beastly appearance, are said to have
2 Pet ii, 12, been like the eyes of man. And last of all, the number of the
u- beast is the number of man, and his name is almost like the
name of Christ, but it is not Christ, and however near the re-
semblance, justice forbids that he should be heir to the promise
of everlasting life.
20. Likewise this beast begins with a great number, and ends
with a small; so the Protestants began with christening whole
nations, causing all, both small and great to receive a mark, and
name, to the letters of which they added naught. Their kirk it
is true had, in a nominal profession, some appearance ; but the
never could keep the commandments of Christ; like the
Judges, xii. Ephraimites and their Sibboleth, for Shibboleth, they never
6' could frame to pronounce it right.
21. While they and their kings and nobles, and ministers of
the Grospel, professed to bear the cross of Christ, (at least the
mark of it in the forehead,) they unhappily betrayed their attach-
ment and likeness to the rebellious children of Israel, who had
their distinguishing mark only in the flesh of the foreskin ; but
the Protestant mark on the skin of the forehead, was neither so
deep, nor so dangerous to the beast.
22. The Protestants and their descendants, like the uncircum-
cised Israelites, glory much in their outward marks, but more
in their number; but though the number of these children of
Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is only the number of the
beast, the number of fallen man, such as Christ called, serpents,
a generation of vipers.
23. As the Jews confined the favor of Cod to their mark and
their number, so did the Protestants, and so do all the Christian
world ; therefore the character and doom of both are well de-
isa.ixv.ii, scribed by the Prophets : But ye are they that forsake the Lord,
that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that
troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all boio
down to the slaughter : for the Lord God shall slay thee and
call his servants by another name.
24. To sum up the whole matter, the Christian world, in its
present state, is so universally corrupt, that every orthodox
Christian must needs be marked with a significant mark or sign
of human depravity, and bound by every obligation that ever
was given to restrain vice.
25. The sexes cannot live together in any order, without a
ceremonial covenant ratified and solemnized by a consecrated
priest, or civil magistrate ; they cannot be governed without the
12, 15.
B. VII. REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF, &C. 341
compulsive energy of arms and human laws; they cannot be chap. v.
credited without the sanction of a solemn oath, nor agree among
themselves without the interference of the civil magistrate to
keep them in order ; none of which pertains to the true kingdom
of Christ ; and therefore, after the appearance of the Lamb on
mount Zion, the angel so justly proclaims with a loud voice :
26. If any man ivorship the beast and his image, and receive Rev.xiv.9,
his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture, into the cup of his indignation ; and he shall be tor-
mented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
10.
CHAPTER V.
REMARKS ON THE PAST AND PRESENT STATE OP THE WIT-
NESSES OF TRUTH.
The natural state of man being a state of probation, it became
necessary that he should be brought in to judgment, and render an
account of all the deeds done in the body ; and as wickedness can-
not go unpunished, so it cannot be condemned without witnesses ;
for this cause, Cod selected from amongst mankind, men of like
passions with the rest ; and endowed them with the light and gifts
of his Spirit, to stand as witnesses against the general corrup-
tions and abounding wickedness of the world ; and no age has
been without such, from the beginning to the present day.
2. "Even Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied against
the wicked, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh in* ten thousands *Gr. sv.
of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all J«d<=> 14>
that are ungodly among them, of all their imgodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches,
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
3. Noah was a true witness against the antediluvian world.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Samuel, all bore a swift
testimony against sin. The prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel, with the lesser prophets, and thousands who received
the same Spirit, were witnesses for God, against the growing
corruptions of human nature.
4. Next follows John the Baptist, by whom was introduced
342 REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OP B. VTI.
chap. v. Jesus, the true and faithful witness, who, having finished his
testimony, gave the same authority to his disciples, Apostles, and
true followers, thousands of whom by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, knew what was in man, and testified against his depravity,
for which they suffered all kinds of hardships and torture, even
to the laying down of their lives.
5. We have seen also, from the most approved records, that
through the darkest ages of antichristian apostasy, God had a
people who bore witness to the truth ; a people who taught the
principles of virtue, and practised what they taught ; who took
no oaths, bore no arms, and held the reins of spiritual govern-
ment in the strictness of their morals ; which, according to their
degree of light, rendered their communion inaccessible to the
unrighteous and wicked, and who testified, that, the church of
Christ, could be composed only of the holy and the just.
6. We have stated from the authority of some of the most noted
ecclesiastical writers, the general faith and manners of the Mar-
cionites, Hierachites, Manicheans, Novatians, Priscillianists,
Basilians, Bogomilans, Catharists, Paterines, Albigtnses, Ana-
baptists, Picards, Waldenses, and lastly of thepeople called
Quakers. Thousands and millions of whom, evenfrom the begin-
See Dan. nmg °f the falling away, to the time of the persecution in New
xi. 33. England, fell by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and
by spoil, many days.
7. The testimony of truth, which stood against vice through
the reign of antichrist, had for its authority both the First and
Second appearing of Christ, that which was past, and that which
was to come; and besides, it had for its object the corruption of
human nature, both in male and female, so women, as well as
men, were authorized to bear testimony to the truth, against vice
and corruption ; and as two witnesses were always counted ne-
cessary to establish a fact, therefore they are said to be two
Rev. xi. 4. witnesses, two olive trees, and two candlesticks, standing before
|ech. iv.2, the Lord of the whole earth.
8. According to the time of antichrist's reign, which was to be
a time, times, and an half time, which is understood to mean one
Rev. xi 9, thousand two-hundred and sixty years; so were the sufferings
and death of the witnesses.
9. Yet those bodies or communities of virtuous believers,
although dead to the world, cut off from any free exercise in the
kingdom of antichrist, devoted to destruction, and banished by
oppression to the sequestered valleys, to the mountains, and to the
dens and caves of the earth, were not suffered to be buried out of
sight, but were continually sought out, reproached, and harrassed
by their rapacious persecutors, although the fire of their testimony
continued, from age to age, to torment them that dioelt upon the
earth.
n.
B. VII. THE WITNESSES OP TRUTH. 343
10. These had the only keys of Divine influence, "and power chap, v.
to shut heaven that it rain not," that the real gifts of the Holy Rev xi 6
Spirit should he withheld from the church of antichrist, in the
days of their prophecy, " and to smite the earth with plagues
and troubles as often as they would," by letting loose the tor-
menting truth among them.
11. Their testimony caused the plagues of bitter dissentions
and bloody tumults, among their persecutors. Also terrible
judgments and plagues followed the persecution of the toitnesses,
as all history attests. And every discerning mind may see that
in the convulsions and bloody revolutions that have rolled
through "Christendom" during ages past, those nations who
have persecuted most, have suffered most ; and the land which
has drunk the most blood of martyrs, has also drunk the most
blood of its inhabitants by means of those terrible visitations.
12. Yet, it seems that mankind will learn but little wisdom
by all these evident facts, but still continue to nurse the deadly
serpent of persecuting venom, ready to be let loose whenever
their own views are thwarted.
13. Can any arguments for the exercise of this pernicious
practice cover its naked deformity? Nay, but in its advocates
the scripture is fulfilled: "They hatch cockatrice eggs, and
weave the spider's web ; he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and is. iix 5,6'
that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper," &c. Such as
partake of this spirit die to virtue, and if they are disappointed
in their object, or crush their opponent, it produces * viperous
enmity, ready to break out on all occasions, and the spider's
web cannot cover their naked deformity.
14. The slaying of the witnesses was peculiar to the reign of
antichrist. In former ages, before antichrist had the dominion,
witnesses were in some measure tolerated, respected, and believed,
among the nations ; but in the corrupt, debauched, and tyrannical
kingdom of the beast, they were not suffered to live, and were
perpetually misrepresented, blackened, and anathematized, as
the most odious of all beings, and persecuted unto death : There-
fore the slaying of the witnesses was to end with the tyranny of
antichrist.
15. For three days and a half their dead bodies were to lie in
the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom RevX1-8,
and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified ; that is, in a
Catholic hierarchy, where politicians are ruled by priests, and
where the oppression of Egypt, and the sin of Sodom abounds.
16. And as this great Babylon was constructed by the obse-
quious Marcianus, the imperious Leo the Great, and the bar-
barous kings, upon the plan of Jewish priests and Pagan rulers ;
so in the street of the same did those dead bodies lie, clothed in
sackcloth, under a state of spiritual mourning, and held in the
344 REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF B. VII.
chap, v. utmost contempt and derision, while the whole Christian world
were rejoicing over them.
17. And thus it continued until about the beginning of the
seventeenth century, when the bloody priesthood lost their bal-
ance of power, and politicians, in the order of Providence, began
to assume the right of civil government, according to the long
neglected dictates of reason ; at which period the power of the
beast began gradually to decline.
18. And from this period it might be said, that the "witnesses
arose and stood upon their feet," in point of credit and divine au-
ity: and while fearfulness took hold of the antichristian powers,
the spirit of the witnesses in the French prophets, arose in a
cloud to heaven, in answer to the great voice of eternal truth,
which began to be uttered; and they were "heard and received
with reverence and awe." And clouds of witnesses have ever
since been rising up to testify plainly against the spirit and
tyranny of antichrist, and the darkness that fills his kingdom, as
well as against the general abominations that overspread the
earth.
19. So that, to this day, light and conviction has been increasing
in the earth, and there are many souls on earth, who are both
tolerated and credited among the people, as God's witnesses had
usually been, before the beastly power of antichrist arose.
These have, in a greater or lesser degree, the light and spirit of
the true witnesses, and are able to discover and bear testimony
against the fraud and inconsistency of those false systems invented
by men of corrupt minds, who, for so many ages, have corrupted
the earth, and perverted the rights of man.
20. As long as such witnesses are honest and faithful to testify
what is given them of God, they are justified and accepted, and
no longer ; this is according to God's manner of dealing in every
age. The Spirit of Christ was never committed to man to be at
his disposal; God always required that man should be subject,
in all things, to the dictates of the Spirit.
21. Hence it has often happened with many, who have had a
good degree of light, and possessed the spirit and power of a
living testimony, that whenever they had gained sufficient credit
and authority among the people, the self-exalting spirit of man
has risen up against God, and perverted the most precious gifts
of God to the purposes of building up their own honor : and this
has been the procuring cause of so many divided sectaries now
on the earth.
22. The witnesses of God in every age, while they stood in
the pure light, testified impartially against the depravity of all
nations, and more especially against their own; but whenever
they became attached to their own people, so far as to favor and
wink at their corruptions, and build them up with an imagination
B. VII. THE WITNESSES OF TRUTH. 345
that they were better than others, then the whole became cor- chap, v.
rupted together, and the true gift was taken from them and
committed to others. And it is to be observed, that the former
have generally persecuted the latter, as far as circumstances
would admit.
23. The true witnesses, during the reign of antichrist, received
not their testimony by a line of succession from the Apostles, but
by revelation; they had the spirit and power of Prophets to
bear testimony, but not of Apostles to build. All such as went
to forming systems, to build up separate parties, or to unite with
any establishments, in order to shun persecution or gain worldly
honor, were deceived by the influence of antichrist, and lost
their testimony, and fell under the dominion of the beast.
24. But such as were neither warped by fear, favor, interest
nor affection, and continued to the end, retained their testimony,
and were owned and accepted of God as true witnesses, and their
reward was with the souls of those under the altar, who toere Rev. vL 9.
beheaded for the word of God, and for the testimony which they
held.
25. The testimony of the witnesses continued to be received
by revelation, after the Apostles' days, and through the succeeding
ages, down to the Quakers; after which none, of the preceding
sectaries who had lost their testimony, could be accepted.*
26. George Fox came forth with a testimony against all those
"thieves and robbers," who had undertaken to defend their cause
by written creeds, and outward forms of doctrine and worship,
and who, for the purpose of making a covering for themselves,
had stolen the good words of the Apostles, or their forefathers,
whose testimony had stood equally against all flesh, and who had
suffered for righteousness sake.
27. All agree that George Fox did not receive his senti- Ecci.His-
ments from Origen, nor the schools. "His ignorant and in- tor^8vol,T"
elegant simplicity, says one, places him beijond the reach of
suspicion in this matter." God generally chose such ignorant
and inelegant teachers to deliver his messages, of which the fol-
lowing is an example.
28. "These (the professors of Christianity, says Fox,) paint Fox's Jou.
themselves with the Prophets', and with Christ's and with the yoli-P-
* The authority of a present living witness, must, of necessity, supercede the
authority of all preceding witnesses, even admitting the preceding to have been
faithful in their day. This is so plain a truth, that it is surprising that mankind
should blunder at it, and blindly reject a present testimony, while they profess to
believe in the past. No one will dispute that the present authority of a foreign
ambassador, clothed with the powers of his government, supersedes the authority
of all former ambassadors whose powers have ceased, or who, through unfaithful-
ness, have forfeited their authority: and it would readily be acknowledged, that
one who, without authority, should assume the name, and demand audience as a
foreign ambassador, would meet with contempt from any nation. So wise and
discerning is man in things that respect the affairs of this life ; and yet so grossly
blind in things spiritual and eternal !
23
346 REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF B. VII.
chap, v. Apostles' words most fair. Whited walls, painted sepulchres,
murderers of the just you are. Your eyes are double, your minds
are double, your hearts are double. Ye flatterers, repent and
turn from your carnal ends, who are full of mischief; pretending
God and godliness, taking him for your cloak ; but he will un-
cover you; and he hath uncovered you to his children."
29. "He will make you bare, discover your secrets, take off
your crown, take away your mantle and your veil, and strip you
of your clothing ; that your nakedness may appear, and how you
sit deceiving the nations. Your abomination and your falsehood
is now made manifest to those who are of God ; who in his power
triumph over you, rejoice over you, the beast, the dragon, the
false prophet, the seducer, the hypocrite, the mother of all har-
Fox'sJou. lots. This is the generation which God is not well pleased with;
ill. ' P" f°r their eves are m^ °f adultery, who cannot cease from evil.
These be they that live in pleasure upon earth ; who glory not
in the Lord, but in the flesh."
30. George Fox bore a plain and living testimony of truth,
according to the will of God at that time. But, unhappily for
the Friends, the testimony of truth was exchanged for the illus-
trations and comments of great men, to suit the taste of the
great and popular ones of the earth : hence the wise and learned
of this world have had occasion to make the following distinction.
Ecci. His- 31. "The tenets which this blunt and illiterate man [.Foa:]
,or^volv- expressed in a rude, confused, and ambiguous manner, were
dressed up and presented under a different form, by the masterly
hands of Barclay, Keith, Fisher, and Penn, who digested
them with such sagacity and art, that they assumed the aspect
of a regular system." And hence it is, that the writings of
Barclay and Penn., are more recommended than those of Fox
or Burrough, because the former were more conformable to the
spirit and government of this world.
32. And what was all this digesting and regulating, but lay-
ing another foundation for those very whited walls and painted
sepulchres, against which their testimony first came forth? Jesus
of Nazareth might have been called a blunt and illiterate man,
when among his own nation the Jews, he denounced judgment
against both them and their most solemn place of worship. His
Apostles were blunt illiterate fishermen ; and such were generally
the principal instruments by which God promoted the best of
causes ; and the true witnesses never attempted to soften the
matter, or to suit their testimony to the taste of the great ones
of the earth.
33. The truth is, the Friends were led astray from the power
of a living testimony by popularity ; in this case they were de-
ceived; and while they clothed themselves with the words of
their ancients, they came under the condemnation of those who
B. VII.
THE WITNESSES OP TRUTH.
347
Sewel's
History, p.
562, 585,
593, 599.
had clothed themselves with the words of Christ and his Apostles, chap, v.
against whom their ancients testified.
34. Popularity and persecution could never abide with each
other. When the Friends became numerous and popular, and
the life and power of their testimony was on the decline, then
they were prepared to sue for an establishment as a true Chris-
tian sect, worthy of protection under the power of the secular
arm ; and here ended both their power, and their extraordinary
sufferings.
35. Many of the petitions, which they presented to King
James II. and also to King William III. and Queen Ann,
now stand on record. William, Prince of Orange, first estab-
lished liberty of conscience by law in Engla?id, about the year
1689. To his honor, the Friends partook of that righteous
grant, but to their shame, as the witnesses of God, it was granted
to them, in particular, upon their humble request, and their re-
ligion established by act of parliament.
30. In the year 1702, William died, princess Ann was pro- ibid. p. 646
claimed queen. To her, also, the Friends sent many addresses.
Thus their petitions for the redress of their grievances, were
mixed with addresses of applause to the great ones of the earth,
until they were placed upon equal ground of respectability with
other Protestants ; and thus the offence of the cross ceased, the
glory of their ancients passed away, and left another people in
the outward form, but destitute of the power ; so that chosen
witnesses were raised up, among themselves, to testify of their
fall and apostacy from their original spirit.
37. The spirit and power of eternal truth confirmed the testi-
mony of George Fox, and many of those who were cotem-
porary with him, that they were sent of God as true witnesses.
But there is decided proof that a people of the same name
followed after, who, as a people, were not the true witnesses :
for as God never did raise up one true witness to testify against
another ; therefore the testimony of John Griffith, whom they
acknowledge to have been sent of God, stands as an undeniable
proof that their power, as a people, was gone, in about sixty years
from the time of their addresses to the queen.
38. From the many lamentations of this faithful laborer, over
a backsliding people, it will be sufficient to notice the following :
" Many under our religious profession (says he) resting in the
profession only, is the principal reason that we find divers under
our name more insensible, harder to be reached unto, and
awakened by a living powerful ministry, than any other religious
persuasion. This may seem strange to some, but I know it is
lamentably true."
39. On his visiting the Friends in America, he makes this re-
flection: "When I have considered the low, indifferent, languid
Griffith's
Journal, p.
56.
Ibid. p. 105.
348
REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OP B. VII.
CHAP. V.
Griffith's
Journal, p.
103.
Burrough's
AVorks, p.
201, 247.
state of those under our name, in many places, both in this and
other nations, chiefly occasioned by an inordinate love of the
world, and the things thereof, my soul has been deeply humbled
in awful prostration."
40. In speaking of the meetings managed by unsanctified spir-
its, he says: " The seed of God, which should have dominion in
all our meetings, is depressed. This spirit, getting in amongst
us, in every part of the body or society, cannot fail of laying
waste ; therefore let all consider what spirit rules them. It is a
mournful truth (adds he) that among the many thousands of
Israel, there are but few, in comparison, who really stand quite
upright ; who cannot be at all warped by fear, interest, favor, or
affection."
41. How far this character falls below the testimony and ex-
pectations of the first true witnesses called Quakers, it is evident
from all their writings, especially from those of Edward Bur-
rough. The truth is, those blunt and illiterate men, as they
are called, who first broke out with such rude and ambiguous
expressions, were never commissioned to found a church, nor to
build up any people upon the authority of their extraordinary
testimony : for no church or people could be established till the
reign of antichrist was at an end.
42. But while they testified against all the false churches, and
false systems that existed on earth, they were commissioned from
heaven to announce their certain downfall, and the setting up of
that church or kingdom which should stand forever; but the
work was not given them to do ; their commission extended no
further than to declare that God was about to effect it, and would,
by means of his own choosing, most certainly accomplish it in his
own time.
43. This will appear most strikingly evident from the writings
of Edivard Burrough, who was cotemporary with George Fox,
and who, in the year 1662, in the 28th year of his age, died a
prisoner in Neivgate, London, for the word of God, and for the
testimony which he held. The following short extracts, from his
own writings, may show the nature of that testimony for which
he patiently suffered unto death.
44. " All ye inhabitants of the earth, in all nations throughout
the world ; hearken and give ear, the word of the Lord God, that
made heaven and earth is toward you ; he is coming to set up his
kingdom and his dominion, which never shall have an end ; and
the kingdoms of this world shall be changed, and shall become
the kingdom of the Son of God. The kingdom of Christ is near
to come, and the kingdoms of this world shall be changed, and
none shall have any part therein, but they that are redeemed out
of kindreds, tongues, and people : this we believe ; he that can
receive it let him."
B. VII. THE WITNESSES OF TRUTH. 349
45. " This is the time in which all the men of this generation chap, v.
are fallen, and the Scripture is fulfilled ; the night wherein no Biirrough'a
man can work is upon the world ; and further, this is the time of im* ""JS p'
antichrist's dominion. And also we know, the time is now ap-
proaching, that the dominion of the beast is near an end, and the
holy city shall the saints possess, and the Gentiles shall be driven
out of it, according as John said. I say, the time is well nigh
expired, and finished, and the Lord God Almighty, and the
Lamb is risen to make war against the beast and his image, who
hath reigned over the kingdoms of the world. But now the
mighty da}r of the Lord, and the judgment of the whore is ap-
proaching, wherein she shall be rewarded according to her
works."
46. " This I have received from God, I say the holy city shall ibid. p. 195,
be measured, and she shall be adorned, and as a bride for her 19/'
husband she shall be prepared ; and God's tabernacle shall be
with men. The kingdom of the beast must down, and the
princely power of darkness must be overthrown, and laws, and
times, and things, and powers of men shall be overthrown, and
overturned, till he come to reign in the earth, whose right it is
to reign over nations and people."
47. " This is written as moved of the Lord, to go abroad through
the nations, that all may understand concerning the times, and
the changing uf times, and how the beast hath reigned in domi-
nion— and the kingdom of Christ hath not been known upon the
earth for many generations ; but the beast hath been established
in his throne of rebellion against Christ Jesus."
48. " All this traditional worship, and false imitations which ibid p. 437.
have been set up since the Apostles' days, shall be overthrown
and confounded ; the Lord is risen and will dash down, and over-
throw all this idolatry now practised amongst Christians: and a
great shaking and confounding shall suddenly come among
Christians ; for the Lord will break down that which hath been
builded, because it is polluted ; and he will pluck up that which
hath been planted, because it is defiled; and a mighty work will
the Lord work in the earth. And for this state, all that fear God,
and love him, are to wait, for this shall come to pass in the
world."
49. "Concerning the things whereof we have testified, these ibid.p.766.
divers years, I am no way doubtful but our God will fulfill them,
neither can my confidence be shaken, by what is or can come to
pass ; for antichrist must fall,/cZse ministry and worship, false
ways and doctrines God will confound, false power and false
church the Lord will lay low ; and truth and righteousness must
reign. These things have we prophesied from day to day ; and
my faith is constant and immovable, that God will effect these
things in his season."
350 REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OP, &C. B. VII.
chap. v. 50. The epistles and warnings of this faithful witness of
Christ, are left as a standing monument of the testimony of truth
at that day ; as a controversy of God with all the inhabitants of
the earth, directed unto all sorts of people ; as a trumpet of the
Lord, and " a true noise of a fearful earthquake at hand, which
shall shake the whole fabrick of the earth, and the pillars
of its standing shall fall, and never more be set up again.
Declared and written by a son of thunder, as a warning to
all the inhabitant s of the earth. By order and authority
given unto me by the Spirit of the living God.'''' So testified
Edward Burrough, in the year 1655.
51. Beginning at the head of the nation, he delivers his mes-
sage to Oliver Cromwell, and all his council — to all judges and
lawyers — to all astrologers, soothsayers, and wise men — to all
generals, colonels, commanders, officers, and soldiers, in Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland — to all the priests, and prophets,
and teachers of the people — to all the Papists, their whole body
and head at Rome — to all Protestants of the eldest sort — to all
Presbyterians and Independents — to all Anabaptists — to all free
willers — to all Ranters — to all seekers and waiters. And lastly,
to those who were in the light of eternal life. And two years
after, he delivered ten solemn warnings to Friends*
52. Those testimonies, which were then delivered from time to
time, breathe the most evident spirit of prophecy, in regard to
the end of a corrupt Christian world, and the setting up of the
pure and everlasting kingdom of Christ.
53. Now certain it is, that the many complaints of worldly
mindedness, of deadness and insensibility , of resting on a mere
profession, and of receiving a false spirit, which stand against
the general body of the Friends, by their own writers, are suffi-
cient evidences that they are not that pure, spiritual and heavenly
church, of which those witnesses prophesied, whose name they
now bear.
• These addresses may be seen at large in Burrough's Works, p. 96 to 114.
B. VII CONCERNING QUAKERS, &C. 351
CHAPTER VI.
REMARKS CONCERNING QUAKERS, FRENCH PROPHETS, AND
OTHER MODERN SECTS.
The Church of Christ in the latter clay, was not to be composed chap VI.
of the worldly minded — the dead and insensible — or of such as
would be led away by a false spirit. Nevertheless, such a dead
and insensible state had been foretold by the spirit of prophecy,
through the witnesses of God, together with a declaration of its
final overthrow ; all of which will in due time be accomplished.
2. Therefore the dissolution of the Christian world, with all
its false establishments, was an event as certain as an}r that had
ever been marked out by the spirit of prophecy; and the jarring
materials of which it was composed, lost the centre of their at-
traction and bands of uniformity, within forty years after the
testimony of George Fox, Edward Bur rough, and the rest, was
delivered ; when civil rulers caused the persecuting sword to be
put up into its sheath, and began to proclaim liberty for every
one to enjoy his own faith unmolested.
3. The whole chain of prophecies, that relate to the heavens
and the earth that then were, have been evidently fulfilling ever
since liberty of conscience was granted ; sects and parties have
not only been dissolving asunder, and removing more distant
from the mother church, and from each other, but the most fun-
damental points of doctrine, discipline, and government, and even
whole creeds, confessions, common prayer books, &c, are, in
many parts of Christendom, passing "-away with a great noise,"
"and the elements" in which they were composed, are melting
"with fervent heat."
4. So that every attempt to reform, repair, and unite together
the different parts of the great Christian world, can only widen
the breach, and hasten the final dissolution of the whole.
5. But again, when the Friends, in the declining state of their
power, applied to an arm of flesh for protection, and had their
religion established by law, and become allied to the government
of this world, they united with the remaining power of the beast,
through the influence of which they became a dead, lifeless body,
as a people.
6. And, in setting out to build another old heaven church upon
the principles of their former light and testimony, before the
time had arrived for their testimony to be accomplished, they only
exposed themselves, equally with others, to suffer the loss of all
their superfluous labor, in the general wreck of false buildings.
352 [concerning Quakers, B. VII.
chap, vi. 7, it is true they were very cautious as to adopting those
forms and ceremonies of worship which pertained to the kingdom
of antichrist ; so that in this they are a very distinguished people.
Nevertheless, the root and foundation of all false religion, and
the very source of this general deadness and insensibility, they
did not touch. They spared Agag and the best of the flock.
8. The lawless works and fruits of the flesh they lopped off in
a good degree ; but the flesh itself they carefully preserved and
transplanted over into their new soil. So that, when that power
failed, by which God is able, of stones, to raise up children unto
Abraham, their numbers might still increase by the works of
natural generation, and their children be taught by tradition, to
say over the words of their forefathers, while totally ignorant of
their spirit and power.
Fox's Jou. 9. " Their way of marriage (says William Pe?in) is peculiar
v0Ki.Cp! to them, and is a distinguishing practice from all other socie-
xix. ' ties professing Christianity. They say that marriage is an
ordinance of God, and that God only can rightly join man
and woman in marriage." But instead of showing how God
joins them, they give a lengthy detail of their own proceedings,
which are as formal and ceremonial as those of any other profess-
ing Christians : and they do not state any thing peculiar in their
manner or motive of copulation to distinguish their natural pos-
terity as the peculiar people of God more than others.
10. We appeal to the light of Christ within them, whether their
secret motive or manner, in the ground ivork of this matter, is
any thing peculiar and distinguishing from the practice of other
professing Christians. And until the Friends can give evidence
that they are a peculiar and distinct people in this respect, they
must be numbered with that generation, with which their ancients
testified, God was not well pleased.
11. They cannot be numbered with the true followers of the
Lamb, because they do not follow him in the Regeneration ;
and if they ever enter that kingdom of which their ancients so
abundantly prophesied, it must be in the same straight and
narrow way of complete self-denial with others of the same cor-
rupt nature ; otherwise they never will see that kingdom while
the earth endureth.
12. God never intended that the real gifts of the Holy Spirit
should be conveyed from one to another by the works of natural
generation ; but he intended (and it was so) that every succeed-
ing age should be dependent on him for their present gifts and
calling.
13. Admitting that the first witnesses among the Friends had
no special command from God, either in regard to natural or
spiritual marriage, (as was the case) this can be no reason why
the matter should be overlooked in them, by those who now stand
B. VII.
FRENCH PROPHETS, &C.
353
Fox's Jou.
ii. p. 5.
vol
Hosea,
1.
ch.
in the spirit and power of that work of which their ancients CHAP- vr
prophesied.
14. It may here be particularly observed, that God raised up
witnesses in different ages, and in divers manners, to effect certain
purposes ; and what was sometimes the testimony or practice of
one witness, was not always of another ; neither was the testi-
mony or practice of one witness to be always the standing rule
of faith or practice to a nation or people.
15. The Frie?ids, according to their account, were charged in
open court, that, " they went together like brute beasts,"
because they would not have their marriages solemnized by a
priest, or civil officer. So might the Jewish lawyers have
charged the Prophet and his spouse with coming together like
whoremongers ; and, admitting the charge in either case to be
ever so well founded, neither of them could be charged with
criminality in fulfiling what might have been commanded them
in particular.
16. But to take that which might have been given as a
reproof, or at best merely tolerated, and turn it into an example,
or precedent, because lawyers or judges pretended to prove it both
lawful and Christian, must surely be a grand deception, and very
foreign from any thing dictated by the spirit of truth. And
therefore the Friends lie under this deception, if they suppose
that this outward ceremony or civil rite of marriage, was given
as a standing ordinance of God, to the first witnesses, whose
name they bear.
17. The truth is, that George Fox, Edward Burrough, and
many of the same spirit, cotemporary with them, were the true
witnesses of the Most High God, possessed of his Spirit and
power ; and on account of the power in which they stood, and the
near approach of that kingdom of which they testified, they were
the greatest witnesses that had been since the Apostles. Not-
withstanding, there were those, after the Apostles' days, who had
greater light and testimony in regard to the hidden works of the
flesh, and who suffered more numerous tortures, and ignominious
deaths for the practical testimony which they held.
18. But the first witnesses called Quakers, were not required
to bear a full testimony concerning the root of human depravity,
but the testimony that was given them of God, most of them
delivered faithfully, as true witnesses, and finished their testimony
through many sufferings.
19. And it is also a truth that their natural descendants, as a
people, have turned aside in their hearts and practice after the
weak and beggarly elements of the world, have made shipwreck
of true faith, and are living upon the words and good speeches
of their ancients, while destitute of their life and power ; and
from true and spiritual worshippers, they have become open and
354
CONCERNING QUAKERS,
B. VII
CHAP. VI.
*See
Grillilh's
Journal, p.
61.
Rev. xi. 8.
John xviii.
36.
Mark, iii.
24,23.
View of
Religions
Art Fr.
Prophels Sc
Chauncy's
Works, vol.
iii- p 2, 3,
4, &.c.
secret idolaters.* And therefore, the remaining few, who still
breathe the spirit of uprightness under this fallen condition, are
but suffering witnesses clothed in sackcloth.
20. It is evident that the Quakers, as a body, have continued
to grow more and more into union with the principles and cus-
toms of the world, to the present time ; so that now they have
honorable stations in the government ; they can be legislators
and members of Congress, and take affirmations to support the
constitution and laws, which make provision for bondage, wars,
and bloodshed. Thus they become more and more of the world,
an honorable, dead body, " lying in the streets of spiritual Sodo?n
and Egypt," called the Christian world.
21. Surely, then, they cannot be that kingdom of Christ, of
which their ancestors prophesied ; for his kingdom " is not of this
world;" neither can his followers ever have a part in a kingdom
that is supported by war and bondage. But the kingdom of
which they prophesied, was to be an increasing kingdom, growing
more and more separate from the world.
22. But this is not the case with those who now claim to be
their descendants — themselves being witnesses. Hence they are
dividing and subdividing like the other dead professing Christian
bodies, one party testifying against the other. Therefore, they
cannot keep their ground, their house cannot stand, but must
fall, amidst the general wreck of all such buildings.
23. On this point we shall only observe further, that soon after
the Honorable William Penn became governor of Pennsylvania,
by a grant from king Charles II. the spirit and testimony of
truth was given, in power, to another people, called French
Prophets, who formed no systems, nor left any advocates behind
them to defend their cause. We shall here add a short account
of these people, taken from the records of those who could only
judge of them according to outward appearance.
24. " The French Prophets first appeared in Dauphiny and
Vivarais. In the year 1G88, five or six hundred Protest-
ants of both sexes gave themselves out to be prophets, and
inspired by the Holy Spirit. They soon became so numerous,
that there were many thousands of them inspired. They had
strange fits, which came upon them with tremblings and faintings,
as in a swoon, which made them stretch out their arms and legs,
and stagger several times before they dropped down."
25. "They struck themselves with their hands; they fell on
their backs, shut their eyes, and heaved with their breasts.
They remained a while in trances, and coming out of them with
twitchings, uttered all which came into their mouths. They said
they saw the heavens open, angels, paradise, and hell."
26. "Those who were just on the point of receiving the spirit
of prophecy, dropped down, not only in the assemblies, crying out
3. VII. FRENCH PROPHETS, &C. 355
mercy, but in the fields, and in their own houses. The least of chap, vr.
their assemblies made up four or five hundred, and some of them
amounted to even three or four thousand persons. When the
prophets had, for a while, been under agitations of body ,they
began to prophesy."
27. "The burden of their prophesies. Amend your lives;
repent ye ; the end of all things draws nigh. The hills re-
sounded with their loud cries for mercy, and with imprecations
against the priests, the church, the pope, and against the anti-
christian dominion, with predictions of the approaching fall of
popery. All they said at these times, was heard and received
with reverence and awe."
28. " In the year 1706, three or four of these prophets came
over into England, and brought their prophetic spirit along with
them ; which discovered itself in the same ways and manners, by
ecstacies and agitations, and inspirations under them, as it had
done in France. And they propagated the like spirit to others ;
so that before the year was out, there were two or three hundred
of these prophets in and about London, of both sexes, of all ages,
men, women and children; and they had delivered, under pro-
phetic inspiration, four or five hundred prophetic warnings."
29. " The great things they pretended by the Spirit, was to give
warning of the near approach of the kingdom of God, the
happy times of the church, the Millennial state. Their mes-
sage was, that the grand jubilee; the acceptable year of the
Lord; the accomplishment of those numerous scriptures, con-
cerning the new heavens and the new earth ; the kingdom of
the Messiah; the marriage of the Lamb ; t\xe first resurrec-
tion; or the nev) Jerusalem descending from above, were now
even at the door."
80. " That this great operation was to be wrought on the part
of man, by spiritual arms only, proceeding from the mouths* of * compare
those, who should by inspiration, or the mighty gift of the Spirit, g^jgj-
be sent forth in great numbers to labor in the vineyard : that xix. 15.
this mission of his servants should be witnessed to, by signs and
wonders from heaven, by a deluge of judgments on the wicked
universally throughout the world, as famine, pestilence, earth-
quakes, &c."
31. " That the exterminating angels shall root out the tares,
and there shall remain upon earth only good corn; and the
works of men being thrown down, there shall be but one Lord,
one faith, one heart, and one voice among mankind. They de-
clared that all the great things they spoke of, would be manifest
over the whole earth within the term of three years."! St. t See Jo-
John stated the reign of antichrist at forty two months. Who 'm' '
can assert that both these times were not in the same order of tnev. xi
reckoning ? t
356 CONCERNING QUAKERS, B. VII.
chap, vi. 32^ (( These Prophets also pretended to the gift of languages ;
of discerning the secrets of the heart ; the gift of ministration of
the same spirit to others, by the laying on of hands ; and the gift
of healing. To prove they were really inspired by the Holy
Spirit they alleged the complete joy and satisfaction they ex-
perienced ; the spirit of prayer which was poured forth upon
them; and the answer of their prayers to God."
33. The particular testimony of the two witnesses closed with
the French Prophets, inasmuch as the things whereof they testi-
fied, followed in order according to their prophecy. A measure,
however, of the same spirit has never since been wanting, but has
wrought either internally or by more external appearances in
divers places. Nor has it been confined to any particular sect
of people, but has been a spirit of prophecy in many of different
names, who have earnestly looked for the appearing of Christ in
the latter day.
34. This is manifest, not only from the many revivals of
religion, both in Europe and America, since the middle of the
eighteenth century, but more particularly from the extraordinary
See "Ken out-pouring of the Spirit of God in the states of Kentucky, Ohio,
vivai7" e Tennessee, and many other places.
35. And for several years past, wonderful spiritual operations
and prophetic inspirations have been increasing in the world,
foretelling a new era of the work of God on earth and that the
last dispensation was at hand. But it should be understood that
the work of the last dispensation, is always future to those that
are not in it.
36. But it is to be particularly remarked, that, until the things
prophesied of were accomplished, and the real work of Redemp-
tion wrought, the purposes of God could be revealed only through
men of like passions with the rest, who were in themselves as
much lost as others ; and liable, through their own corruptions,
to run into wild extremes and groundless imaginations of their
own framing.
37. For the want of true judgment, and a real spiritual dis-
cernment, between the testimony of truth and the exalted sensa-
tions of depraved human nature, seemingly blended with it, men
of natural abilities, and even of upright intentions, have been led
to defend that which in the main, was indefensible. And in the
final failure of a false prophecy, in some cases, the blind and in-
credulous have been left to oppose the truth in others. Occasions
of this nature may be seen in a book entitled, " The World's
Doom, or the Cabinet of Fate unlocked.''''
38. But certain it is, that no human errors, mixtures, and
false applications, can ever alter the purpose of God, or prevent
the main substance of prophecy from taking place : nor can any
wild extremes into which the prophet may run, destroy the force
B. VII. TRENCH PROPHETS, &C. 357
of the prophecy, in the judgment of the wise ; because the fulfil- CHAR VL
ment depends not on him that delivers it ; nor is the truth of it
founded on his -wisdom or prudence: witness Balaam, the
Prophet Jonah, and others.
39. The Menonites and Moravians of the present day, claim
their descent from the ancient heretics ; however, by mixing with
the spirit of antichristian reformers, and embracing their human
creeds, they have degenerated into a formal state without the
power; yet, in many particulars, they retain some shadow of the
ancient virtue, in regard to civil officers, arms, oaths, &c. But
the purest descendants, and present remains of the ancient
witnesses, are the people called Bunkers; some among this
people, in a great degree, retain the uprightness, and simplicity
of their predecessors.
40. Under the names of Quakers, Methodists, New-light
Presbyterians, and others, even under the most permanent forms
that have been established during the dominion of antichrist, it
is undoubtedly certain, that there are many souls sincerely look-
ing for redemption from sin ; and who, according to their light,
are laboring to do the best they can.
41. And such have always been particularly noticed of God,
as much as the penitent Jews were in their captivity; and such,
with those of the same spirit of honesty and love of truth, God
will hide in his pavilion, in the clay of visitation, and in the
secret of his tabernacle shall they be covered in the day of
trouble ; while the kings and great ones of the earth shall cry to
the rocks and mountains to fall upon them ; and while the king-
doms and nations of the earth are breaking each other in pieces,
even as the vessel of a potter is broken.
42. God will not cast off those who truly fear him. He will
not reward the righteous according to the works of the wicked :
neither will he reward the wicked according to the doings of the
just. But each shall have the portion of their own choice, as it
is written: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he Rev. xxii.
that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, '
let him be righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy
still. And behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be.
THE TESTIMONY
OP
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
•JO*4MK&-
BOOK VIII.
THE DISPENSATION OF THE SECOND APPEARING OF CHRIST;
THE FINISHING WORK OF THE NEW CREATION.
CHAPTER I.
remarks on the spirit of prophecy, respecting the
time op Christ's second appearing.
According to the predictions of the Prophets, many have been chap. i.
long looking for the commencement of what is called the Mil- '
lennium, or latter day of glory, when the kingdom of Christ
shall be set up and established on earth ; in which all tyrannical
and oppressive governments shall be overthrown and destroyed,
and mankind enjoy just and equal rights in all matters, civil and
religious ; when all wars shall cease, and universal peace be en-
joyed by the nations of the earth.
2. That such a day has long been foretold, and must necessarily
take place, is clear from the whole tenor of scripture prophecy;
but the time, and circumstances of that day, have been matter of
reasoning and debate for many ages; while it was, in reality,
out of sight of the most penetrating part of mankind, and
was intended to remain so, until the work of the day should
declare it.
3. But let it be understood, that these things cannot be instan-
taneously effected ; and that they are the work of the principles
which will operate in this Millennial day, progressively bringing
forth increasing degrees of perfection, according to the order of
the work, providentially and spiritually, until the whole purpose
of God is accomplished.
4. This has been the manner of God's work, in all dispensa-
tions ; it has ever begun small, and progressively increased to Mark) iv
maturity, like the parable of " the seed cast into the ground, 26,29'.
360 REMARKS ON B. VIII.
CHAR J\ which springs up and is brought forth, first the Hade, then the
ear, after that the full com in the ear."
5. Therefore, the "great chain" ivith which Satan was
bound, signifies a long and important series of events, operating
providentially in the natural and spiritual orders, by which the
tyrannical and persecuting power of the dragon will be more and
more bound, in such a manner, that his power (which has de-
ceived the nations, by established antichristian and persecuting
religions, by which the saints were swept from the earth, or
scattered; so that they were not suffered to build any church
according to the order of Christianity) will be gradually taken
away. Thus, the liberty of conscience, and the rights of man,
Rev.xiv.c. w^ become progressively established; so that all will be left
&xjcii. 17. free to choose the everlasting Gospel.
6. Nevertheless, although the saints shall live and reign a
thousand years, yet, it is evident that they will not then cease to live
and reign, any more than Christ will cease to live and reign, when
ki\o io.4' " a^ enemies shall be put under his feet. " But, during this period,
l Cor. xv. the " camp of the saints" will be formed, which is the Church
23, 25. \>\x\\t up in the Millennium, by the true Christian principles, re-
vealed in Christ's first and second appearing. And when all nations
led by Satan, shall compass this camp, and become overthrown,
then will the saints live and reign, in triumphant power, with
Christ, in his everlasting kingdom, which shall stand for ever.
Acts,xvii. y. God, wno mac[e tne world and all things therein, de-
termined the times before appointed, and fixed the bounds of
man's habitation, ruled the heavens and the earth as he pleased,
cast down, or exalted the nations according to his own wisdom,
and permitted the basest of men to rule over them, until the
times determined were accomplished, which he had reserved in
his own power.
8. It was, therefore, impossible in the nature of things, for the
most upright men living, in their natural state, to comprehend,
in its real and true nature, that which belonged to a future state
of things. This belonged to God alone, and therefore could only
be revealed to man, by such sensible signs, figures, and simili-
tudes, as were adapted to his natural capacity, to excite his
rational belief in what was yet to appear.
9. To say nothing here, particularly, on the different parts
which compose the Scriptures ; it is certain that, if any history of
past events is to be credited, the historical part of the sacred
writings claims the first and highest authority.
10. And it is equally certain, that many future events were
revealed to those who were chosen of God for that purpose, under
many and various similitudes, figures, and shadows, while the
substances themselves were concealed from the penetration even
of those unto whom the shadows were given.
Ddn. iv. 17.
B. VIII. THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, &C\ 361
11. But as many future events have been revealed by the Holy chap, i.
Spirit, under mysterious figures or natural appearances, the
natural man must naturally form some ideas in his mind concerning
them. The question then is, whether his ideas are true or false?
12. This matter may be at once decided ; for if his ideas are
fixed upon natural objects, because the similitudes are familiar
to his natural senses, his ideas must be false; and it is evident,
that, until the substances themselves are actually manifested, he
can have nothing to contemplate them by, but natural similitudes.
13. And, although the Spirit of Revelation is true, yet, the
natural man's ideas concerning the real substances of the things,
can be no other than false ; and whether the similitudes are to
be literally, or spiritually fulfilled, it is not for him to know or
determine, seeing that God has reserved to himself alone, the
times and seasons, and of course, the manner of their accomplish-
ment.
14. The whole Jewish state, was, as it were, converted into
natural similitudes and shadoios of good things to come, which
were confirmed to the heirs of promise from time to time, by the
most evincing evidences ; yet, how long has that nation persevered
in the fatal delusion, that they are the only people of God, and
true seed of promise ; while bondage, captivity, death, and the
curse of being scattered among the nations, are their most dis-
tinguishing evidences !
15. And how many hundreds of years has the name Christian,
bound whole nations under the same strange delusion, and fur-
nished them with a pretext for filling the earth with the most
horrid crimes !
16. Thousands, no better by nature or practice than others,
by virtue of this distinguishing name, have assumed the character
of God's children, laid claim to the earth as their lawful inheri-
tance, taken up arms against every other name and character, as
usurpers ; and, by such acts of cruelty and outrage as are shocking
to nature itself, have given their fellow creatures the greatest
occasion to blaspheme the God of heaven, for sending into the
world such a person as Jesus Christ.
17. These fatal mistakes among mankind, evidently arose from
their taking the shadow for the substance ; claiming a right to
Revelation, the spirit of which they possessed not ; proposing the
manner of God's work, and limiting or extending the times and
seasons, which Divine Power and Wisdom had reserved from the Acts, i. 7.
knowledge of mortals, until revealed in their own time ; and
fixing their own natural and carnal ideas to the language of the
Holy Ghost, by virtue of stolen words ; to the true sense of
which, consequently, they could never agree.
18. Hence came confusion, contentions, and debates without
number; an incontestable evidence that the Holy Spirit never
24
362 REMARKS ON B. VIII.
chap. i. gave them this authority to construe her language : therefore it
can be no reasonable objection against the spirit of prophecy,
that the substances of what is revealed, was incomprehensible,
and could not be known or understood in their true nature, until
they were brought forth and exhibited in their season ; seeing it
was impossible in the nature of things, considering their dark
state, that it should be otherwise.
19. The error of deception, therefore, is not in the mysterious
language of inspiration, nor in those who were simply moved to
foretell, under sublime figures, what God would bring to pas* in
future days; but in the minds of natural and carnal men, who
take upon themselves to limit or extend those times and seasons,
which, in the mind of wisdom, were determined to be out of their
reach until the times appointed.
20. Nor could those sublime figures in prophetic language,
ever be really and truly understood, or explained, until the very
times of their fulfilment ; and even then, by those only, who
come into the very spirit of the work, at the day in which it is
wrought.
21. Whatever may be said in opposition to divine revelation,
or the spirit of prophecy, certain it is, that fallen man never could
have had any sense of his future existence, or the prospects of
immortality, but through this medium, whether he received it by
tradition or otherwise.
22. And it is equally certain, that nothing else has ever kept
the world in awe, or given any lasting energy to the impulse of
human laws: and nothing but that religion, which contemplates
the objects and scenes of the present life, as the prolonged
shadows of a never ending eternity, could ever have exhibited them
to the mind, and prolonged those shadows to so great an extent.
23. It must, therefore, be ascribed to the wisdom of God, in
revealing a future state, successive to the present, that man has
been excited to that degree of natural virtue, through which his
natural state has continued to such a length of time, as to over-
take that new creation, which the divine counsel had determined.
For if the lawless passions of Cain and the Canaanites, had
universally prevailed, no flesh could have been saved ; this world
isa, i. 9. would long ago, have been like Sodom and Gomorrah, and the
cities round about.
24. Much was said by the witnesses of truth, particularly in
later ages, concerning that day in which the mystery of God was
to be finished in relation to man ; but after all those prophecies,
and all the reasonings of natural men, concerning their accom-
Mai. xxiv. plishment, the words of Jesus Christ comprehend the whole : But
36- of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father only.
25. Previous to the commencement of that day, there were
B. VIII. THE SPIRIT OP PROPHECY, &C. 363
three things respecting it, which mankind could not possibly chap, i.
know. First, the time ; second, the place ; third, the manner
in which it was to commence.
26. First. The time could not possibly be ascertained, except
by Divine wisdom, although it was fixed in definite numbers, by
various Prophets. As nothing inferior to man can know the 1 Cor. u.
things of man, save by the spirit of man ; so no man can know ll"
the things of God, but by the Spirit of God, by which the
prophecies were given.
27. Man, as a rational creature, has fixed the times and seasons,
according to the changes of this globe, in relation to the sun and
moon, and has thereby established the day, the month, and the
year ; but inferior beings are not confined to those calculations of
man ; much less beings of a superior rank.
28. Again, man has been accustomed to calculate times by a
variety of objects in nature, and to distinguish those calculations
by various names, as generations, ages, years, months, weeks,
days, hours, and seasons ; but what can he certainly know beyond
the limits of his own age ? Nothing at all. Yet the Spirit spake
of ages of ages; he may call this eternity, or what he pleases, it
alters it not ; he is certainly lost in the thought, because it ex-
ceeds his narrow limits.
29. Again, in the language of the Spirit, A thousand years 2Pei.iii.fi.
are with the Lord as one day. I hare appointed thee each day jer.3^v.
for a year. And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon u-
seventy years.
30. Therefore, the natural man may calculate the times to suit
his own pleasure ; he may comprise the greatest numbers in a
few hours of the natural day, and prove the time of the promise
to have been past thousands of years ago. Or if he chooses to
continue in his sins during life, he may put far away the evil day,
even to a future period of twenty-five millions of common years ;
by either of which he will also prove himself to be totally ignorant
of the matter, and altogether in nature's darkness.
31. Again, an angel set the time for cleansing the sanctuary, Dan.viii.
at two thousand three hundred days. But can the natural man
certainly tell whether the Spirit meant the days of man, or of the
Lord; or a medium between, that is, two thousand three hundred
of his natural years ? *
32. Which ever way he may take, it can profit him little. He
may out-live the first period of six or seven years, and all the
good it may bring. The second is entirely out of his reach ; nor
can he tell where it began, or where it will end : and the third is
infinitely beyond his comprehension, being not less than two
million, or twenty-three hundred thousand years.
* There can be no consistent data for this period, but the date when given : all
other calculations will fail.
3G4
REMARKS ON THE SPIRIT OF, &C.
B. VIII.
Dan. ix
25.
chap. i. 33> The natural man, or the inspired man (if he chooses to
denominate himself so because he has the Scriptures before
his eyes) may acknowledge that he knows nothing about the
time, because the spirit of prophecy, by express declarations,
obliges him so to do ; yet he imagines that he can tell the event
whenever it shall appear; but in this he is equally mistaken.
34. To whom were the prophecies first given ? To whom were
given the types and shadows of the Law and the Prophets ? Was
Rom. iii. 2. it not to the Jews ? Much every ivay they had the advantage, says
the Apostle.
35. What then ? The Prophet Daniel, had told them that it
should be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks unto
Messiah, the Prince. But how would the Scripture-inspired Jew
calculate this ? Would he call it four hundred and eighty-three
natural days ? or four hundred and eighty-three years ? or four
hundred and eighty-three thousand years ? Without the very
same Spirit which dictated those numbers, and that in the time of
their accomplishment, either way, darkness must be his portion.
36. Upon the first calculation, he finds nothing to satisfy his
mind ; his natural senses comprehend all he beholds. The
second calculation, he thinks, will bring the Messiah ; and the
plan which he has laid out by his understanding, he thinks, will
determine the event whenever it comes to pass.
37. But instead of the Messiah, and the great event he looks
for, there comes one Jesus of Nazareth, whom they know, and
who is more like a beggar than a prince ; who called them a gen-
eration or brood of vipers, denounced woes upon them, foretold
the destruction of their city and temple, the abolition of their
whole religious system, and their final extinction as a nation.
38. Thus the events of his most reasonable calculations take
place, and he knows them not; and beyond this, the calculation
of the sixty-nine or seventy weeks must out-run the most distant
conception of either Jew or Gentile.
39. The truth is, natural men could never calculate God's
times and seasons, they either come too soon or too late ; and
thus, in all their calculations, they have always placed God at a
great distance from the calculator, either in the past or future
tense ; at so great a distance at least, that there remained no
probability of his seeing the day of God's power; and the world
have been best satisfied to have it so.
40. They shrink from the thought of their days being num-
bered, and their enjoyments in nature, being included within the
small compass of a generation ; and yet, upon their own calcula-
tion, themselves being judges, men in a state of nature cannot
know the day of God's power; it is out of their sight, as far as
eternity is out of sight of time.
41. They cannot see that to which the prophecy alludes, and
See Mat.
xxiii. and
xxiv.
B. VIII. place of Christ's kingdom. 365
therefore cannot interpret it. The vision of all is to them like chap, ii
a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, jsa. xxiv.
saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, / cannot, for it is n-
sealed. And the unlearned cannot read it because they are not
learned.
42. It is therefore justly observed by Newton, "It is no Diss. xiv.
wonder that the fathers, nor indeed that any one should mistake 174". K p'
in particularly applying prophecies, which had not then received
their completion. The fathers might understand the prophecies
so far as they were fulfilled, but when they ventured farther,
they plunged out of their depth, and were lost in the abyss of
error. Such prophecies can be explained only by the events."
43. All this is strictly true; to which may be added, that
when the prophecies received their completion, none could make
the just application but such as were in the spirit and truth of
their fulfilment.
44. The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, Se« 2. ret.
neither can it be accomplished by his will, nor agreeable to it ; D^1' ™f
and consequently the time of its accomplishment cannot be dated 10.
by man's wisdom, nor interpreted to serve his private views ; but
must be ascertained first of all by the event, and then understood
by those who are in it.
7.
CHAPTER II.
THE PLACE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM, AND MANNER OF HIS
WORK.
Secondly. The place, in which the work of Christ's kingdom
was to be exhibited, is also entirely out of sight of men in a state Ezek. xiiii.
of nature, and in its real and full sense cannot possibly be com-
municated to the natural understanding, even by the spirit of
prophecy, any faster than they become truly enlightened by the
Spirit.
2. The Prophets spoke of the Lord's descending from heaven;
but natural men cannot call Jesus, Lord,, because his kingdom is
not of this world; for no man, in truth, can say that Jesus isj
Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
3. Again, they spake of Jerusalem, as being the place where
the kingdom of God was to appear ; and of a descendant from
1 Cor. xii.
3G6 place op Christ's kingdom. B. VIII.
chap. II. David sitting there upon his throne; but these prophecies,
according to the sense of a natural Jew, could not apply to
Christ Jesus, nor to his day.
4. He was not descended as a prince of David, nor horn in the
palace of any of their princes ; hut begotten out of the ordinary
course of nature, and brought forth in a stable ; Jerusalem was
also in bondage with her children; the sceptre was departed
from Judah; and the throne of David laid waste; nor did he
ever restore or sit upon that throne ; how, then, according to the
lof 21! ' sense of the Jews, could he be the Messiah ?
5. The city and temple of God had been particularly described
by the prophet Ezekiel, and all the bounds and limits of the
Holy Land round about ; and the natural man supposed all those
things would be literally established in the land of Canaan, and
on the natural mount Zion. But the appearing of Christ Jesus,
and the work of God, went directly against all such views ; there-
fore natural men, were, in that instance, wholly mistaken as to
the place ; and why not again ?
6. Since that mistake has been discovered, and the natural
Canaan put out of the reach of Abraham's natural posterity,
some have become a little more spiritual in their understanding,
concerning the place of Grod's throne and kingdom, and have
stated it to be the Church.
7. But the churches have become so numerous since this
principle was discovered, that in this particular, natural men are
more divided and bewildered than ever ; and the enquiry, where
Lord ? is more than ever out of their reach to determine.
8. If Christ should appear in one church, all the rest would
of course reject him, because he came not where they looked for
him. This difficulty was very evident in his first appearing :
John, i. 46. They object, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
9. The prejudices of nations, kingdoms, churches, and indi-
viduals, are such against each other, that unless God should act
contrary to them all, he could not open his kingdom or manifest
his work of redemption impartially. For were it opened and
revealed, according to the ideas and expectations of any natural
man, church, or nation, all the rest would be offended, because
they had not been favored with the first discovery. Such is the
very nature of proud man.
10. Therefore the throne of God, and the place of the soles
of his feet, are, to the natural man, neither at Jerusalem, nor in
this mountain; neither in the desert, nor secret chamber ; neither
21. ' here, nor there. It is absolutely hid from the icise and "prudent,
26at&!xi!V" who sought it by their human wisdom, and revealed unto
25,27- spiritual babes.
11. The powers of nature, in relation to God's spiritual work,
are as far short of ascertaining where, as how long. Man, by
B. VIII. PLACE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM. 367
searching, may find out where he himself is, in relation to time chap, ii.
and things ; whether he is in sickness or disgrace ; in poverty or
debt ; whether he is in a healthy country, in a kingdom, common-
wealth or republic ; whether he is in subjection to the laws of his
country, or in secret or open violation of them ; whether he is in
war or in peace ; in his own house or in prison.
12. He may also ascertain the position of other objects in
relation to each other. He may know where this earth is, and
measure its distance from the sun, and find out all the motions
and distances of the moon and planets. The natural heavens and
earth are within the compass of his knowledge ; here he may
have his god, his favorite object of love, his virtues and vices,
his good and evil.
13. But beyond this what doth he know ? Can he tell where
his soul is, in relation to the true God, and eternal life? Has
he any certain knowledge either of the one or the other ? What
place or thing doth he comprehend beyond the use of his natural
senses? Deprive him of seeing, hearing, feeling, and where is
he? In a pavilion of profound darkness !
14. By the use of sensible objects, he may form a thousand
places and things in his imagination, which never had, nor can
have any reality in them. He may imagine a material heaven
beyond the fixed stars, and contemplate its coming to this earth
at some certain period far distant.
15. He may imagine a resurrection of material bodies, and
fancy a union to be formed between that remote heaven and this
earth. And when his imagination has been stretched to the
utmost, he may correct his own errors, and reject revelation,
because he supposed it led him into such unreasonable opinions.
16. Yet after all his fantastic ideas, and consequent disap-
pointments, he will find that the error was not in revelation,
because he never had it ; but arose out of his own weakness, in
trying to bring the sublime things of God within the limits of
his own dark and sensual capacity.
17. If then, a material heaven cannot pass down to this earth,
through the sphere of the fixed stars, the sun, moon and planets,
nor a material body ascend thither ; is this any reason why the
promise of God should be void, and of no effect ?
18. " Let God be true, and every man a liar ; " let man deceive Rom. iii. 4.
and be deceived, while he imagines that the things of the Spirit,
are such as he can see with his natural eyes, and handle with his
natural hands.
19. While he is willing to put far away the day of God, and
abuse the scripture words and numbers, by his carnal reason, let
him try to ascertain by his human wisdom, whether Christ will
come first to old Jerusalem, or to some of the churches ; whether
in an army of natural troops, or of rational arguments ; and
368
PLACE OF CHRIST S KINGDOM.
B. VIII.
Luke, xvii.
37. 1 Cor.
xii. 12.
Job,
xxviii 20,
31.
chap, ii. whether his kingdom will most resemble that of king Solomon,
the Pope, Bonaparte, or that of the Word.
20. He may fix it either way, but very little depends on the
conclusion of his carnal mind ; the purpose of God remains un-
changeable in all the operations of his work, and he will do his
pleasure.
21. When Christ spake to his disciples of his second coming,
they asked him, ivhere Lord ? Jesus did not auswer, In Jeru-
salem, or among such a body of nominal Christians, or lo here,
or lo there ; but, Wheresoever the body is. For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of
that, one body, being many, are one body ; so also is Christ.
22. Neither did Jesus expressly tell them what, or where that
body should be. Whence then cometh wisdom ? and where is
the place of understanding ? seeing it is hid from the eyes of all
living.
23. Thirdly. The manner of the work of God in the latter
days, was also to remain concealed from the comprehension of
mankind, until the event should declare it, being promised under
prophetic figures and similitudes, as opposite to each other as
fire and water, light and darkness.
24. The natural figures which were used to describe the day
of the Lord, after holding forth the future prospects, were more
calculated to blind than to enlighten the natural sense. This
the Prophet knew, when he said, Woe unto you that desire the
day of the Lord ! the day of the Lord is darkness and not light.
25. And again, when Zion shall arise and shine, and the
Lord shall be her everlasting light, and her God her glory ; then
darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.
2G. Natural men could look for natural appearances of great-
ness and glory, while both the similitudes of future events, and
the events themselves, confounded their human wisdom. Thus,
Jesus Christ was denominated a King ; but his appearance in
reality was as mean as that of a beggar, " without form or comeli-
ness, that any one should desire hi?n."
27. Here the natural man fell short in looking for a king, like
the great ones of the earth, when the work of this " King of kings,"
was to humble himself and become obedient unto death ; and by
his self-denying example, lay a foundation for supplanting all the
kings and kingdoms of the earth.
28. This the natural man could not comprehend, however
plainly substantiated ; still he looked for a king higher than all
the kings of the earth, sitting upon some visible throne, such as
his carnal eyes could behold, while, in the purpose of God, there
was nothing for his carnal reasonings but eternal disappointment.
29. The ruling elements of the day of God he could not un-
derstand from natural figures. The Holy Spirit was compared
Amos, v.
18.
Isa. Lx. 1,
2.
Isa liii .
3.
B. VIII. place op Christ's kingdom. 369
to fire: and the same was often compared to water. Is not my chap. ii.
word like a fire, saith the Lord. The disciples of Jesus wanted
to call down real fire from heaven ; but they mistook the figure for Luke, ix.
the substance, and knew not what manner of spirit they were of.
30. And the same mistake remains with all natural men, while
they look for a natural Jesus to descend from the natural
heavens, in flames of natural fire, taking vengeance on their
natural enemies : but their natural eyes shall never see it.
31. The wind blow eth where it listeth — a dry wind — a full John, iii. 8.
wind shall come — he shall come up as clouds — and the wind shall il'ia' '
carry them all away — / will four water upon him that is thirsty, Is>a- x,i- 16>
and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon Mai. iii. 2.
thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring — he is like a re- ^'lU XX1V-
finer^s fire — he shall come in the clouds.
32. In these, and many other places, the same thing is denomi-
nated by opposite elements, and the same elements made use of
to denominate opposite things; how, then, could the natural man
comprehend it? If the Spirit that was to be poured out, was
both fire and water, both hot and cold, it could not, to his sense,
possibly be one ; and how could he know it ? He might be look-
ing for water, and behold fire cometh ; or he might be looking
for fire, and there cometh water ; so that he could not possibly
tell which to expect.
33. But he thinks he verily believes the Scriptures, which
cannot be broken, and these testify, that "when they shall say, 1 Thes. v.
peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh." So contrary 3-
are the imaginations of men to the things of God in futurity.
But, to the candid and spiritually minded, there is a clear and
consistent meaning in all these figures.
370
MANNER OF
B. VIII.
CHAP. III.
Joel ii. 31.
Mat. xxiv.
29.
See Eph.
iv. 9, 10.
CHAPTER III.
THE MANNER OF CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
The signs given by the spirit of prophecy, are also out of sight
of the natural man ; such as the visible changes in the things of
nature. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon
into blood. The stars shall fall from heaven, and the, powers of
the heavens shall be shaken.
2. These things were, in a certain sense, fulfilled on the day
of Pentecost ; but was the natural sun really turned into dark-
ness ? was the moon converted into blood ? or did the natural
stars fall from the natural heavens ? No such events ever did
take place ; and who can say they ever will ? *
3. Then the natural man may say, This spirit of prophecy is a
lying spirit ! This by no means follows ; for the same spirit in
the Apostles, testifies concerning the Prophets, that not unto
themselves, but unto us they did minister the things that were
then reported, by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
4. Men of different occupations, call very different things by
the same name ; as a wheel among clock-makers, a wheel among
coachmakers, a wheel among mill-wrights ; all of which are
denominated wheels, though very different in their use, appear-
ance, and manner of operation.
5. The human body, a political body, a body of troops ; the
society, the church, the nation, have each their particular head.
The light of the sun, the light of reason, the light of revelation,
are very different objects, yet each is called light. Adam fell
from a state of innocence, Judas fell from the Apostleship,
Eutychus /fiZ/ from the third loft; each is denominated a fall.
6. Eutychus was raised up, so was Lazarus, and so was Christ
Jesus ; but their rising was very different. Eutychus was
raised up by the power of others, from where he fell ; Lazarus
was raised up by Jesus, from where the buriers had laid him,
and was subject to be laid in the same place again: but Christ
Jesus arose from the lower parts of the earth, where he had
descended, and that by his own power ; wherefore his rising was
very different from all others.
7. If the spirit of prophecy, did beforehand, minister to those
who were heirs of salvation, in words, which at the time the minis-
* The sun may be said to be darkened, when its light is excluded from the
earth by a cloud or an eclipse, or by any supernatural means, as the darkness over
the land of Egypt in the time of Moses, and the darkness at the crucifixion of
Jesus ; yet no person can reasonably suppose that the sun itself was ever turned
into darkness; and whether it ever will be, is entirely unknown to man.
B. VIII.
Christ's second appearing.
371
tration was given, represented other objects, those heirs of salva- chap.iii.
tion, when they received the true substance of the thing signified,
could then bear witness that the ministering Spirit was a Spirit
of truth. And natural men, who had not received the same
Spirit, but had deceived themselves, by falsely using the words
of prophecy in a natural sense, could have neither understanding
nor right to interfere in the matter.
8. An ignorant man may use and pervert the words of philoso-
phers ; he may call the light of the sun, the light of reason ; he
may use the words of mechanics, and call the crown wheel of a
clock, the hind wheel of a coach, or the rag wheel of a saw-mill;
or he may use the words of divines and politicians, and call a
body of divinity, a corporate body, or a body of troops.
9. But as the light of the sun is not the light of reason ; so
neither is the light of reason the light of revelation. And the
heavens and the earth, used in the figurative language of the
Prophets, are in substance, no more the natural heavens and
earth, than a body of religious doctrines is a body of national
troops.
10. And if the Prophet Joel, and others, had used the words
sun, moon, and stars, blood, fire, and vapours of smoke, to de-
scribe certain characters, things, and operations, that were to
appear and take place in a future day ; it belonged to Peter,
who had received the Holy Spirit, to say whether it was natural
stars that were to fall from the natural heavens, or whether the
falling respected another species of lights ; and whether the dark-
ness, trembling and quaking, spoken of, respected another kind
of heavens and earth.
11. But natural men have always "erred, not knowing the Mat. xxii.
Scriptures nor the power of God;" and deceived themselves, 29-
by fixing their own natural ideas of natural things to the letter
of the Scriptures, while they are wholly ignorant of the Spirit
who dictated them; and hence the endless debates concerning
their true meaning.
12. Even the disciples of Jesus themselves, until they received
the Holy Spirit, could not be made sensible of spiritual things:
Hoiv is it, said Christ that ye do not understand? O fools, and Lukexxiv.
slow of heart to believe! They marvelled at his sayings, and 25-
were afraid to ask him. Yet, proud, natural men, tenfold
darker than they, presume that they can understand all about it ;
although they have fixed the living Saviour at a greater distance
from them, than the most distant regions of the fixed stars. So
foolish is the wisdom of this world !
13. How little did the disciples of Christ Jesus comprehend
from his words, the design of his death, the nature of his resur-
rection and future glory! He told them that " the Son of man Lukexviii.
should be delivered up to the Grentiles, that he should be mocked, '
372
MANNER OF
B. VIII.
CHAP. III.
and despitefully entreated,
him, and put him
Mark, ix.
10.
1 Cor.
9, 10.
2 Pet. iii.
10. 12.
1 The*s.
1G, 17.
scourge
again.
14.
and spit npon — that they should
to death, and that he should rise
But they did not understand him, although his words
were as plain as words could be. And what was the reason?
Did they not know who the Gentiles were ? Had they never
known of any who were put to death ? Had they not been in-
formed of numbers who had been raised from the dead before?
Had they not, with their own eyes, seen Lazarus and others,
raised from the dead ? Did they not know what it was to be
spitefully entreated, to be mocked, and scourged? Did they not
know what it was for one man to spit upon another ?
15. They were undoubtedly men of common sense, and knew
as well as other natural men, what these things naturally signi-
fied. But as to the true spiritual meaning, they were at a loss.
The thing was hid from them ; they questioned among themselves
what the rising from the dead should mean. Nay, more, they
understood none of these things — neither kneio they the things
that were spoken.
16. Then if the disciples themselves, from the living testimony
of the Spirit, could not understand this rising from the dead, nor
any of these things when they were so near, how should natural
men understand them from the letter, at so great a distance ?
Nay, it cannot be, any more than they can span the heavens, or
find out the bounds of a never ending eternity.
17. But after the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles, then
indeed, what they knew, they knew in reality and truth, although
they knew but in part ; for they still prophesied of things to
come, having not received the fulness. Hence, said the Apostle
Paul: We know in part, and we prophesy in part. But v;hen
that zohich is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall
be done away.
18. The Apostles still spoke of the coming of Christ, as future ;
and of their " looking for, and hastening unto the coming of that
day, in which the heavens being on fire, should be dissolved, and
the elements melt with fervent heat, and when the earth and the
works thereof should be burnt up."
19. In the same prophetic manner, they testified that " the Lord
himself should descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; that the dead
in Christ should rise first ; and that those who were alive and
remained, should be caught up together to meet the Lord in the
air."*
20. Here the same figures are still continued to describe his
coming, that had been used by the Jewish Prophets, although
! This air according to the original, signifies spirit, or spiritual element.
B. VIII. CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING. 373
they had testified that he had come, and they had seen him after chap, hi.
he had finished the work that was given him to do.
21. But in all that they had testified, how they had seen, and
learned, and heard, and known, what was there that could open
the matter, in its true light, to the natural man? Chiist told
them that he came to bring fire on earth ; but who ever saw any
material fire in the case ?
22. What changes in the material world were visible to the
natural eyes ? "What blood or fire or pillars of smoke had they
to show ? They saw in part, but what had they to show to
others ? what part of a new heaven or a new earth ? what other
sun was in part risen? or what new stars created? or what
natural body was in part risen, so that the natural eyes of man ,LCor-xv-
could behold a kind of fir si fruits of them that slept?
23. They neither had, nor pretended to have, any thing of the
kind to show. The same earth, air, fire, and water, continued
just as they had been from the beginning ; no burning, nor
drowning, nor sweeping away by windy hurricanes, or any thing
of the kind.
24. But after bringing certain strange things to the ears of
mankind, concerning '■'■one. Jesus, who ivas dead, and whom they See Acts,
affirmed to be alive,'1'' their writings were enlarged upon the same
prophetic subject, and iu the same prophetic language they pre-
dicted the great day of the Lord yet to come.
25. Then, from what has been said, it may appear evident,
that neither the time, place, nor manner of Christ's coming can
possibly be fully known or understood by any, until it is declared
by the event itself, and that even then, it cannot be really and
truly known and declared, but by and through those who have
received the same spirit, which first foretold the event, and are
in the very light and work of the day.
26. For there is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which Job, xxviii.
the vulture 's eye hath not seen: The noil's whelps have not '
trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed it. And that path which
no fowl knoweth, cannot be in the natural heavens; therefore,
the way of Christ's coming cannot be through the natural heavens ;
neither can it be from the desert, the paths of which have not
eluded the feet of the lion.
27. Whence then comet h true wisdom? and where is the place v. 20, 21. &
of understanding? seeing it is hid from, the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the folds of the air. The same path is
equally hid from the carnally wise and cruel. No philosopher
hath discovered it ; nor bloody tyrant trodden it. It remains
unknown to those eager pursuers of natural wisdom and human
power, of whom the fowls of the air, and the lions of the desert,
are but a figure.
28. In vain then is the path of wisdom, or the way of Christ,
1 Cor. i.24,
30.
374 MANNER OP, &C. B. VIII.
chap. in. sought for, until his Divine Spirit declares it ; and to this pur-
John, viii. Pose kis own words stand recorded. / know whence I came, and
14, 42. ivhither I go. But ye cannot tell w hence I come, or vjhither I go.
Mat.xi. 27. I proceeded and came forth from God. No man knoioeth the Son
but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the
Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
29. Is then Christ revealed in the atmosphere, to the birds of
the air ? Is he revealed in the secret chambers ? or is he revealed
in the desert, to the beasts of the forests ? Nay, in no wise.
30. He therefore, that would learn and know whence Christ
cometh, and where he is revealed, let him seek for him where he
is to be found, and where he has promised to set up his
tabernacle, and to establish his throne and abide forever.
31. That is, hi his body, the true Church, which, by its mani-
fest fruits, gives evidence that Christ is the life of its members;
this is a sure criterion, given by Jesus Christ himself, which
cannot be mistaken, even by the natural man, if he exercise his
rational understanding.
32. But, in order to have just views upon the all important
subject of Christ's Second Appearing, let the following facts be
john,xiv. Well understood. Jesus Christ testified: " Yet, a little while,
and the world seeth me no more ; but ye see me ; because I live,
ye shall live also.''''
33. This effectually destroys the doctrine of a carnal resurrec-
tion of the natural body ; for, if the natural body of Jesus Christ
did arise from the tomb, and did ascend into heaven, then did
the disciples, with their natural eyes, see him go up ; and, if he
comes again with the same body, all men may see him with their
natural eyes ; this would contradict the testimony of Christ Jesus,
that the world should see him no more. Then it conclusively
follows, that his personal presence will never more be seen by
the world.
34. Again, when he ascended into heaven, the angels declared,
Acts, i. n. "that this same Jesus (that is, Saviour) which is taken up from
you into heaven, shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen
him go into heaven!" The Apostles, with their spiritual eyes,
saw his spiritual body ascend into heaven ; but, certain it is,
that the world never saw him go into heaven, hence, if he comes,
in like manner, in his Second Appearance, he can never be seen
by the eyes of the world, except, through the medium of his
saints.
35. And as the world never knew that he had ascended to
heaven, except through the medium of his witnesses, so, in like
manner, he must descend, and be known, when he comes again
to earth. Therefore, it is evident that the Second Appearing of
Christ can only be the manifestation of the same Divine Spirit
in his saints ; and the world will never know that he has de-
B. VIII. THE TRUE CHARACTER, &C. 375
scended from heaven to earth, but by the testimony of his wit- chap, iv.
nesses, who live in him and he in them, and that the promised Heb. vii.
Saviour is there with his saints as his true body. "By their 25-
fruits the world shall know them."
36. And, as in all the dispensations of the work of G-od, the
increasing revelation always began in one chosen agent, and the
first agent through whom every succeeding dispensation has
begun, has always exceeded, in divine light and heavenly glory,
all that ever came before ; hence, Jesus far exceeded all that
ever came before him. Therefore, if the second manifestation of See Jno. x.
Christ were through the male order, that male agent, must in-
contestable exceed Jesus in greatness and glory.
37. But, if the second appearance of the Divine Spirit of
Christ, commences through the order of the female, though the
work should be seven times greater, and more glorious in its re- Seelsa.
suit than that of his first coming, yet, this would not make the which evi-
female agent greater than the first preceding male agent in {^llly al"
Christ. For the man is the head of the woman in Christ, as Christ's Se-
well as in nature. From these premises it is evident, that the %£&£?'
second coming of Christ, must commence in the line of the fe- see l Cor.
• . • ii 1 ^
male. And, that this all important period, which has, in this
manner, been ushered into the world, has commenced, is clearly
proved, by incontestable evidence.
CHAPTER IV.
THE TRUE CHARACTER OP THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
The Church of Christ is composed of such as are called and
chosen of God out of the spirit and practice of the world. And
in obedience to that call, they are separated from all the rest of
mankind, and united in one body, constituted a holy and peculiar
people, actuated by one holy Spirit, and are devoted to the cause
of truth and virtue.
2. The Church of Christ is called the kingdom of heaven,
because it is under the government of heaven, and is a state,
habitation, or society, necessary to prepare mankind for the hap-
piness of heaven itself ; and such is that line of order and dispo-
sition of things iu the spiritual world, extending from the source
of true happiness, to this world, that no soul can enter heaven,
but through that kingdom, or Church of Christ.
37G THE TRUE CHARACTER OP B. VIII.
chap, iv. o Hence, the Church is called the light of the world,
Mat. v. 13, inasmuch as the men of the world can receive no true saving
u- light, but in and through the Church. It is also the salt of the
earth, as none upon earth can be saved but by the Church : It is
See Mat. therefore plainly, the saviour of all who are truly united with
that body.
4. The Church is properly the house or habitation of Cod on
earth, which signifies that God is not to be found any where else
Ezek.xiiii. on earth.* As it is written: So?i of man, the place of my
liiw!"' throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I ivill dwell
in the midst of the children of Israel forever. Great is the
mystery of godliness : God manifested in the flesh.
5. The essential properties of the Church of Christ are purity
and unity. The Church is one in faith and practice ; one in
doctrine, discipline, and government ; and one in the mutual and
equal enjoyment of all things, both spiritual and temporal. And
where this oneness doth not exist, there is neither fruit nor evi-
dence of the true Church of Christ; for Christ is not, nor can
he be divided.
6. The Church has but one faith, and that is the faith of
Christ, the faith of the Son of God, which overcomes the nature
and spirit of the world, enlightens the understanding, influences
the will, and purifies the heart. It is one in doctrine, which is,
according to godliness, sound, pure, wholesome, and free from
error ; inasmuch as it makes no provision for the flesh or any
evil, or any sin great or small, and leads only to the practice of
Rev. xxi. true godliness, unspotted piety, and sound virtue. There shall,
in no wise, enter into it, any thing that defleth.
7. The Church has but one government, because all the mem-
bers are governed and influenced by one Spirit, which is the
Spirit of Christ, who is the Head of the body, and the centre of
isa. lii. 8. influence to the members. They shall lift up their voices together
ibid. chap, —they shall see eye to eye: It is one in practice, which is righte-
ix. 2i ousness and peace. Thy people also, shall be all righteous.
l John in. jj^ t^a[ ^.^ righteousness, is righteous. It is therefore by
doing right, that the Church is righteous : and of the Church all
must learn righteousness, who will be righteous. Let your light
so shine before men.
8. The Church is of one united interest, as the children of one
family, enjoying equal rights and privileges in things spiritual
and temporal, because they are influenced and led by one Spirit,
Acts, ii. 44. and love is the only bond of their union. All that believed were
iv-3'2- together, and had all things common — and were of one heart,
and of one soul.
* God may be Seen in the order and works of his creation and providence ; yet
he can be found for the salvation and redemption of mankind, only where he has
revealed himself for that purpose, and that is in his Church.
B. VIII. THE CHURCH OP CHRIST. 377
9. And therefore, in the sense of an aspiring and selfish chap, iv.
nature, there is neither Jew nor Greek, high nor low, rich nor Gal. m.23.
poor, bond nor free, male nor female ; for they are all one in
Christ Jesus. But the Church claims no relation to that which
is the most highly esteemed, as the common interest and princi-
ple, and common enjoyment to the children of this world ;
namely, to the works of the flesh.
10. In this respect, the Church is perfectly united — they have
one common cross, which is the cross of Christ Jesus — they cru-
cify one root of evil, which is the flesh with all its affections and
lusts ; and hence they possess one common salvation from all sin.
Where there is not a common salvation from all sin, there is
neither Christ nor his Church ; for his name was called Jesus, i.e. Mat. i.21.
a Saoiour, because he saves his people from their sins.
11. As all have sinned, and none can be fully saved from their
sins out of the Church ; so all that come to the Church must
needs come in their sins; and by bringing their deeds to the
light, that is, by confessing and forsaking all their sins, they
may find their relation to the Church, according to the degree
of their faith and obedience to the light which they receive.
12. But they cannot hold that relation, nor become as " pillars,
in the temple of Grod, to go no more out," in any other way, than
by receiving a. ministration of that gift and power of God, which
abides in the Church, and in obedience thereto, resisting and
Overcoming evil, and growing up in all things into Christ, who is
the Head. Therefore, all are not the Church, who at first find
their relation to the Church, until their souls become purified in
obeying the truth. For the temple of God is holy.
13. But persons may, for a time, receive faith and light, and
the gifts of God through the Church, and by being unfaithful and
disobedient, may fall away ; but the Church itself can never fall,
nor be shaken ; because the foundation thereof is everlasting,
being laid by the revelation of God, in the unchangeable nature
and order of his own eternal power and Divine majesty ; and the
building itself has been raised according to the unchangeable
purpose of God, which he purposed in wisdom, to accomplish in
the fulness of times.
14. And although there was a true Church, according to the
light in the days of the Apostles, yet it was supplanted and
trodden under foot ; because the order in the foundation of the
building, was not completed, according to the purpose of God in
the fulness of times, nor could it be, until Christ made his second
appearing.
15. And if there were in the succeeding ages, after the
Apostles, false and divided churches, it was because they sprang
from false-hearted and divided men. And if there is one church
now on earth, faithful, holy, and righteous, it is most certainly
25
378 THE TRUE CHARACTER OF, &C. B. VIII.
chap. iv. the offspring of a faithful, holy, and righteous God, who created
Eph_ iiL 9j the Church and all things therein, both visible and invisible, by
">• . Jesus Christ.
16. And as certain as the only true God did promise to estab-
lish a holy Church, in the latter day, in which He would dwell,
so certain that Church is brought forth, and contains the principles
of all that was promised, as pertaining to the Church, temple,
tabernacle, house or habitation of God, in the latter day.
17. A house or habitation is built to contain the property and
furniture, as well as the person of the builder: so the Church of
God contains all the unsearchable riches, and treasures of wisdom
and knowledge, pertaining to the redemption of man, which God
Col ; w hath treasured up in Christ, who is the head of the Church, and
18- who is before all things therein, and by whom all things therein
consist.
18. The Holy Spirit was promised, and dwells in the Church,
with all her gifts, powers, and diversities of operations. The
gifts of faith, wisdom, knowledge, discerning of spirits, gifts of
healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues, and so on. All which gifts
of the Holy Spirit are given to the Church, for the manifestation
Eph. iv. n, of the spirit — for the perfecting of the saints — for the work of
12> 13 the ministry — and the edifying of the body of Christ, till they all
come into the unity of the faith — unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ.
19. Thus by his Holy Spirit, God has sanctified and cleansed
chap v. 27. n^s Church, that he might present it to himself a glorious
Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any stick thing ; but
that it should be holy, and ivithout blemish.
20. The law and the covenant were promised, and are in the
isa. ii. 3. Church. The law shall go forth out of Zion. Christ is the
head of his body, the Church, which is the light of the world. /
chap. xlii. will give him for a covenant of the people, for a light of the
6- Gentiles. The word of God was promised and is in the Church
— that word ivhich is quick and powerful, a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart — and liveth and abidMh
forever. .
21. Repentance and remission of sins were promised, and are
Acts, v. 31. in the Church. Him hath God exalted — a Prince and Saviour,
for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. The
son of man hath power on e.arth to forgive sins. This power is
John, xx. given to the Church : Whose soever sins ye remit, they are re-
mitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are re-
tained.
22. Salvation and redemption are in the Church, and no where
isa. xivi. else. I will place salvation in Zion for Israel, my glory. The
13. lix. 20. Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob.
Heb. iv. 12.
B. VIII. THE FOUNDATION PILLARS OP, &C. 379
23. In a word, the whole mystery of God, and of the Father, chap, v.
and of Christ, and all that pertains to eternal life and godliness,
are, in and through the Church, revealed and progressively mani-
fested, and according to the order of Grod in the fulness of times,
are to be received and acknowledged for the purposes of Re-
demption, and the perfection of the dispensation of the fulness of Eph. 1. io.
the times.
CHAPTER V.
THE FOUNDATION PILLARS OF THE CHURCH OP CHRIST.
The Church of Christ has its foundation in the revelation of
God, and that foundation is Christ. But who, or what is
Christ ? The name Christ Jesus signifies anointed Saviour. Mat. i. 21.
Thou shall call his name Jesus ; for he shall save his people
from, their sins. And as the man Jesus was, for that very pur-
pose, endowed with the spiritual unction or anointing power of
the Holy Spirit of Christ, which proceeded forth and came from
God; therefore being baptized into the divine nature he was icor.xu.
called Jesus Christ, i.e. the anointed. 13*
2. Hence the Church is called the body of Christ, which*
signifies the body of the anointed, or the body of those who have
received the Holy Spirit, and have been baptized into the one
spiritual body ; therefore the Church of Christ is the Church of
the anointed. Christ Jesus was not the body of the anointed,
but the Head ; and as the body hath many members, so also is
Christ, or the anointed. These members are those human beings
in which the anointing spirit hath its abode. And hence it is 1 John, ii.
written : The anointing which ye have received of him abideth co'i i 27
in you — which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
3. Therefore, Christ or the divine anointing in the body, or
Church, is not a man or woman, but the unction or anointing of
his Holy Spirit, of which the anointing oil with which the Jew-
ish kings and prophets were formerly anointed, was a figure.
Neither is the anointed one member, but many : not a particular
person only, but a body of people." And as every thing must
have a foundation or first cause, so the body of the anointed
originated from one, and this one must be considered as the
foundation pillar or first father of all who constitute that body.
380 THE FOUNDATION PILLARS OF B. VIII.
chap. v. 4, The world is not one person, but many ; yet all the world
sprang from one man, who is therefore considered as the founda-
tion pillar or first father of the human race. But as the first
man was not alone in the foundation of the old creation ; so
neither did Christ Jesus, in his single person, complete the order
in the foundation of the new creation.
5. Had there never been any written account of the founda-
tion of human society, or the constitutent order of the world, the
world itself would be a standing monument of the essential parts
of which it is composed, namely of man and woman ; the father
and mother of all living. And as every individual in the world
sprang from a father and mother, the conclusion is self-evident,
that the whole sprang from one joint parentage, or first father
and mother, as the foundation pillars of human society.
6. And upon the same principle might the foundation pillars
of the anointed be discovered, were there no written or verbal
account of the beginning of such an order ; for no effect can
exist without a cause, and by the effect, the cause which pro-
duced it is made manifest : and this truth is still more evident
since the pointed predictions of the ancient prophets are recorded,
and fulfilled in the Church of Christ in the present day.
7. Then first, as the Church is constituted of mankind, who
are anointed with the Holy Spirit, and separated from the world,
it follows that man, anointed with the Holy Spirit, was the first
foundation pillar of the Church. And second, as the Church is
not composed of the man without the woman, but both are united
in the Lord by an inseparable bond of spiritual union, it follows
of course that such a union and relation sprang from a first man
♦ and woman who were thus united.
8. And this man and woman, united in the bond of an ever-
lasting covenant, and anointed with the same spirit, must be the
foundation pillars of all who are thus united by the same anoint-
ing. And whether they are immediately and personally known
or not, yet, by the spirit of harmony and union flowing through
the anointed, there is a relative knowledge of their nature and
union ; as much as the world relatively know, by experience, the
nature and union of their first foundation pillars, or parentage,
whose image they bear.
9. And as the order in the foundation of the old creation could
not be complete by the first man without the first woman ; so the
order in the foundation of the new creation could not be complete
i Cor. xv. in the man alone ; for the man is not without the woman in the
u' Lord, nor the woman without the man.
10. In the natural creation, the man was first formed, and
afterwards the woman, who was the mother of all living; and the
man was not of the woman, but the woman of the man, and by
the woman, was the order in the creation of man completed ;
B. VIII. THE CHURCH OP CHRIST. 381
and the first covenant was between them both, for the increasing chap, v.
glory of the natural creation.
11. Christ Jesus, that is the anointed Jesus, was the second
man, the beginning of a new creation of God : but, as has been
observed, no order in the creation could be completed by one
alone ; therefore, according to the invariable order and relation
of things, the ultimate display of the new creation required a
corresponding female, that the new covenant might stand between
them both, for the increase and glory of the new creation.
12. The first man was created male and female jointly, but
neither was male nor female separately, until the woman was taken
out of the man ; so in the first appearing of Christ, that spirit of
anointing which constituted Christ, was male and female jointly,
but not separately in visible order : Nor could any abiding and
perfect spiritual union -and relation exist in order, between the
sexes, until the woman was raised up, in her appointed season,
and anointed to complete the order in the foundation of the new
creation, for the redemption of both man and woman.
13. The woman was the first in the transgression, and there-
fore must be the last out of it, and by her the way of deliverance
must be completed. Nevertheless, by her faith, and in her sub-
jection to the man, she was justified and accepted in the primitive
Qhurch ; but .her true order could not be gained ; but only in
the line of prophecy, as relating to the second appearing of
Christ, was she allowed to teach, until the time of her redemption
came.
14. Before the first woman was taken out of the man, he had
a work given him to do. He gave names to every beast of the
field ; but among all those animals, there was not found for him
a help, according to that order which was before him : so, after
Jesus was created, and his body, the Church, was anointed, every
beast received from him, his name,* so that the kingdom of the *See Mat.
beast became full of names ; but there was none among them all, xxiii.33.
a help to the first-born in the new creation. 5ev*^&
15. Nor could the real spiritual work of his kingdom be set in xxii. 15.
order, until the names and characters of those beasts (i.e. every
sect and denomination in the beastly nature) were filled up, which
was at the end of the beast's dominion, about the middle of the
eighteenth century.
16. When the persecuting power of the beast ceased, the body
of the- true witnesses, who had received an emanation from the Zech. xiii:
spirit of the two anointed ones, fell into a deep sleep ; and out of
that body was the woman taken, by the Spirit of life from God,
and by the operation of his creative power she was purified, and
raised up, as a foundation pillar, and the first born in her order,
to stand as a help with the first born of many brethren, in the
administration of the covenant of redemption.
4.
382 THE FOUNDATION PILLARS OP B. VIII.
chap, v. 17# From what hath been observed on the covenant made
with Abraham ; the law of Moses ; the state of man at the first
appearing of Christ ; what was wrought in the days of Christ
Jesus and his Apostles ; and all that followed, through the reign
of antichrist, it is evident that the covenant of eternal life was
yet lacking in a very essential point.
18. For as every form, or appearance of a covenant, that ever
God made with man, stood between tivo, and required two to
fulfil it ; so it is evident, not only from the nature of things, but
also from every promise and prophecy, which related to the
covenant of eternal life, that it equally required two, in order to
its final accomplishment.
19. Then as the first covenant was established between the
first man and woman, in the creation of man, and the order and
relation of man was completed by the woman ; so, by the woman,
is the order and relation of the man Christ Jesus completed, and
a perfect union and equality according to their order established,
for the purpose of full redemption, and the increase of that mutual
glory and happiness, which Grod, according to the covenant of
eternal life, promised to accomplish in the latter day.
20. This covenant relation is between them both ; for as the
first covenant between the male and female was broken, and the
whole creation was thereby marred ; so no restoration could take
place without a new covenant relation between male and female ;
and therefore it was necessary both in the purpose of God, and
in the order of things, that Christ should make his first appear-
ing in the man, and his second in the woman.
21. It was reasonable that the man Jesus, who became the
the Lord or Christ Jesus, the beginning and first pillar in the
new creation, should not be begotten in the ordinary course of
nature ; had it been otherwise, he could not have wrought any
deliverance from sin in the earth, because he was alone ; and there
was none before him of the human race, who had ever done it.
isa. ixiii. 3. J have trodden the wine press alone ; and of the people there was
no7ie with me.
22. Yet, if he had not been begotten through that medium
by which he partook of the nature of sin, he could not have
destroyed death, which came by sin, nor established the founda-
tion of man's redemption. For he would not have been of the
Heb. ii. ii, human race, therefore they could not have followed his steps by
n.&iPet. suffering in and rising out of sinful flesh, nor could he have
been their example, having no part in common with them.
23. By his perfect obedience to the law and counsel of his
Col. ii. 10. Father, and the perfect law of righteousness and truth which he
* Heb. ii. established, and by offering up his own life a sacrifice, through
to. " ' ' sufferings, he became the first born of every creature in the new
creation, the first begotten from the dead.
B. VIII. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 383
24. Jesus was evidently born under the death of a fallen chap, v.
nature, and had to be begotten and raised therefrom by the
Divine Spirit of Christ. Hence he was the first that ever received
the new birth,* therefore God hath highly exalted him, and * See Rev
given him a name in the new creation above every name, not only :' ' '
in this world, but in that which is to come, so that in all things col. i. is.
he hath the 'pre-eminence.
25. And therefore, when the foundation of man's redemption
was laid by the work of Christ's first appearing, the way began
also to be prepared for his second appearing, to make a final end
of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. For, although
the foundation was laid, yet there could be no complete redemp-
tion from sin, until the revelation of Christ, for its final destruc-
tion, should be made where sin first took its seat.
26. As sin first took its seat in the woman, and thence entered
the human race, and as Christ in taking upon him the nature of
fallen man, in Jesus, to purify and redeem him, made his first
appearing in the line of the male only ; therefore the mystery of
iniquity or man op sin was not fully revealed, nor the mystery
of God finished, in Christ's first appearing.
27. And therefore, it was also necessary, that Christ should
make his second appearing in the line of the female, and that in
one who was conceived in sin, and lost in the fulness of man's
fall; because in the woman the root of sin was first planted, and
its final destruction must begin where its foundation was first
laid, and from whence it first entered the human race.
28. Therefore, in the fulness of time, according to the un-
changeable purpose of God, that same Spirit and word of power,
which created man at the beginning — which spake by all the
Prophets — which dwelt in the man Jesus — which was given to
the Apostles and true witnesses as the holy Spirit and word of
promise, which groaned in them, waiting for the day of redemp-
tion— and which was spoken of in the language of prophecy, as
" a woman travailing with child, and pained to be delivered,"
was revealed in a Woman.
29. And that woman, in whom was manifested that Spirit and
word of power, who was anointed and chosen of God, to reveal
the mystery of iniquity, to stand as the first in her order, to ac-
complish the purpose of God, in the restoration of that which was
lost by the transgression of the first woman, and to finish the
work of man's final redemption, was Ann Lee.
30. As a chosen vessel, appointed by Divine wisdom, she,
by her faithful obedience to that same anointing, became the
temple of the Holy Spirit, and the second heir with Jesus, in
the covenant and promise of eternal life. And by her sufferings
and travail for a lost world, and her union and subjection to
Christ Jesus, her Lord and Head, she became the first born
384 THE FOUNDATION PILLARS OF, &C. B. VIII.
chap, v. 0-f many sisters, and the true Mother of all living in the
new creation.
31. Thus the perfection of the revelation of God, in this latter
day, excels, particularly, in that which respects the glorious
part in the creation of man, namely, the woman. And herein is
the most condescending goodness and mercy of God displayed,
not only in redeeming that amiable part of the creation from
the curse, and all the sorrotos of the fall, but also in condescend-
ing to the lowest estate of the loss of mankind.
32. So that by the first and second appearing of Christ, the
foundation of God is laid and completed, for the full restoration
and redemption of both the man and the woman in Christ, ac-
cording to the order of the new covenant, which God has esr
tablished in them for his own glory, and the mutual good and
happiness of each other, and their spiritual posterity.
33. And in this covenant, both male and female, as brethren
and sisters in the family of Christ, jointly united by the bond
of love, find each their correspondent relation to the first cause
of their existence, through the joint parentage of their redemp-
tion.
34. Then the man who was called Jesus, and the woman who
was called Ann, are verily the two first visible foundation pillars of
the Church of Christ — the two anointed ones — the two first heirs
of promise, between whom the covenant of eternal life is estab-
lished— the first Father and Mother of all the children of regene-
ration— the two first visible Parents in the work of redemption —
and in whom was revealed the invisible joint Parentage in the new
creation, for the increase of that seed through which " all the
families of the earth shall be blessed."
B. VIII. THE PARENTAGE OP, &C. 385
CHAPTER VI.
THE PARENTAGE OP THE CHURCH OP CHRIST.
Every thing that exists has a correspondent relation to the chap, vi.
cause of its existence. Thus, there is a correspondence between
the creature and the Creator ; the redeemed^ and the Redeemer ;
the sanctified and the Sanctifier; and if there were no creature,
there could exist no such attribute as Creator.
2. He that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all Heb. ii. 11.
one : that is, in the order of correspondence. In the same sense,
the ruler and the ruled, the father and son, the mother and
daughter, are respectively one in a correpondent relation, or in
a correspondence of attributes.
3.. Without which union or correspondent relation, neither can
have real existence. So that the very existence of father depends
upon son, as much as the existence of son depends upon father.
And from this correspondence in the nature and existence of things,
arises every attribute of God and Christ, which are known to man.
4. And for the want of an understanding of the true nature
and cause of that union and relation, which constitutes the differ-
ent attributes in spiritual objects, wrong-headed men have run
into the inconsistency of ascribing a Trinity, or three distinct
personalities to the Divine Majesty, and thus forming a plurality
of Gods.
5. This supposition has no foundation in either reason or reve-
lation, for there is nothing in heaven, nor on earth, which has'
any corresponding analogy to it. But the existence of a Creator
and the order of Deity, are clearly seen by the- corresponding
analogy of the visible works and order of creation, as is incon-
testibly shown, both by reason and Scripture.
6. Hence, take away every created object, and all those attri-
butes ascribed to Deity cease; as the attributes of greater light Gen. l. a,,
and lesser light would end, if the sun and moon were annihilated:
for it must be from a correspondence with the lesser, that the
greater, receives its attribute of greatness ; and so of the rest.
7. Therefore, if no son or daughter exist, there can be no
father or mother, if no female, then no male ; destroy the exist-
ence of the woman, and the attribute of the man ceases and falls
into oblivion, and all the order, glory, and perfection in the
visible creation of man, falls with it; for the existence of man
depends upon woman, as really as woman's upon man.
8. Upon these plain and self-evident principles, it follows that
those attributes of Trinity, Godhead, and their correspondent ap-
386 THE PARENTAGE OP B. VIII.
chap vi. pellations, which men have ascribed to the Deity, are not in his
Divine Essence ; but they arose from misconceptions of the terms
used in Scripture, to express the different orders of manifestations
from the eternal Source of Divine intelligence, and these have
been construed, according to comparisons, drawn by the human
mind, between corresponding objects in time; but by reason of
human depravity, and the want of true light and revelation, those
objects have been perverted, and with them every true attribute
of Deity.
9. As God is eternal, immortal and infinite ; so the Divine
jok. xi.7. Essence or Being ca"nnot be comprehended, but by the revelation
16. lm" V' of his Spirit, and by the things that are made, and their corres-
Rom, i. 20. pondent relations. And as none of those corresponding attributes
could exist but from a first cause ; so it is proper to receive the
knowledge and contemplate the glory of the invisible first cause
through those corresponding objects that visibly exist.
10. In the same sense that Gfod received the attribute of
Creator from the existence of creation; so the Creator, in the
sense of mankind, received the attribute of Father, from the ex-
istence of the first man, who was called the Son of God, in the
Lukein. natural ereation. Nor could such an attribute as Redeemer,
See Jer. eVer have existed in the mind of man, had not man become a
xxxi. 11. ,. , i-
captive to his enemy.
11. Then, as nothing can exist without its correspondent re-
lation, and the attributes of Grod are so evident from the inva-
riable union of things in the natural creation, and as the new and
spiritual creation was intended to display the glory of God in a
superior manner ; therefore, it will be proper here, to consider
the union and correspondence of the different parts of the new
creation, by which the divine perfections are most eminently dis-
played.
12. It hath been observed, that the perfection and glory of
the natural creation was not completed until the woman was
taken out of the man, and placed in her proper order. Whatever
essential glory man might have possessed, yet it could not have
been declarative, so long as he existed alone ; that is, it could
not have been declared, revealed or manifested, without a suitable
correspondent object, to increase or augment his glory. And,
Mar. Bib. therefore, the Lord God said: It is not good that the man
Gen. ii- is. should oe alone; I will make him an help according to that
help as be- , . , . ' , . r °
fore him. order which is bejore htm.
13. Upon the same principle it was not good for Christ Jesus
to be alone in the glory of his kingdom, and the perfection of
that victory which he gained over the spirit and power of the
fall. Nor could the true glory of what he gained ever have been
declared, or made manifest, without a correspondent object united
to him in a joint relation.
B. VIII. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 387
14. Therefore, as the first man was not without the woman, chap, vi.
nor the woman without the man in the natural creation; so
neither is the man without the woman, nor the womau without
the man in the Lord. Man cannot exist without woman, any
more than father can exist without son. Jesus, in the first
appearing, did not exist without a woman. He was "made of a
woman; " and, from the natural and visible correspondence be-
tween man and woman, he received the attribute of man.
15. And as no higher order of woman existed than natural, he
could be known only as a natural man; but as a spiritual man,
and one standing alone in the beginning of a new and spiritual
creation, he could not be revealed or known, in reality, without
a spiritual woman, any more than the first natural man could, in
reality, have been declared as such, when Grod created male and
female, two in one, and called their name Adam, in the day
when he created them.
16. As the natural woman could not exist but from her cor-
respondent union and relation to the first man ; so neither could
a spiritual woman exist but in a correspondent union and relation
to a spiritual man ; and each must receive the distinguishing at-
tribute of man or woman from its relation to the other.
17. Then, as the natural woman was separated from the man,
and placed in her distinct order before the glory and perfection
of the man or the woman could be displayed ; so it was necessary
in the work of redemption, that the spiritual woman should be
taken out of man, and placed in her corresponding order, before
the perfection and glory of the new creation could appear.
18. The man Jesus, through the medium of a woman, inherited
the seed of Abraham, the nature of human depravity, with Heb. u. w,
which he entered the world, and in all things was made like unto 17-
his brethren ; yet, by perfectly following the divine light, he was,
in every sense, taken out of, separated from, and placed above john v;u
every correspondent attachment to all that was carnal in woman, 29-
which came by the fall.
19. And by the energy of that eternal word, which he received
from his Father, he overcame the spirit and power of human de-
pravity, and was sanctified and set apart in the work of redemp-
tion, as the first born in the new creation. And by that word
which liveth and abideth forever, he was constituted an high
priest forever over the household of God, after the order of Mel- Heb.vj 20,
chisedec.
20. And all who came into him, that is, not into the natural
body of Christ Jesus, but into his divine nature, were in him,
and by him, through the energy of that same eternal word, taken
out of their correspondent relation to the depravity of the fall,
and constituted the spiritual body of the second Adam, compre-
hending male and female, as the body of Christ. And this was
388
THE PARENTAGE OF
B. VIII.
a Thcss. ii.
chap vr. the work 0f Christ in his first appearing, to make in himself, of
Eph. ii. is. twain (i.e. of man and woman) one new man; so making peace.
21. Then the Church, which was the body of Christ in his first
appearing, did constitute one new man, consisting of man and
woman ; but that body alone could not increase and multiply, after
the order of the new covenant (any more than the body of the first
male and female, while in the state in which God first created
them, when he called their name Adam) until the spiritual
woman was taken out of the spiritual man, and placed in her own
proper order and correspondent relation to her spiritual head.
22. This was the reason why the Apostle, speaking of Christ's
second appearing, and of the Church's increase in that day, says :
That day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, even the mystery of iniquity.
Hence, it follows, beyond all contradiction, that the work of re-
demption was not yet complete.
23. Therefore, the work of God, in the first mother of the new
creation, was to reveal the mystery of iniquity where it first
entered, and to separate the woman from her correspondent re-
lation in the flesh, after the order of the old covenant, and to
place her in her proper order as a spiritual woman, according to
the new covenant, in a correspondent relation to the first spiritual
■man.
24. As it was by the revelation of Christ, and the energy of
that same eternal word which liveth and abideth forever, that the
woman was taken out of, and separated from her correspondent
relation to the fallen state of man, and made a spiritual woman ;
so in her, and by her, the glory and perfection of the spiritual
man, Christ Jesus was revealed.
25. It was only by the spiritual man, Christ Jesus, and her
corresponding relation to him, that she could receive the attribute
of spiritual woman. And it is only from the certain existence of
sons and daughters, or spiritual children, that those who begat
and brought them forth, can receive the attributes of father and
mother, or spiritual parents. So that if the son has a correspond-
ing relation in the new creation, so likewise has the daughter.
26. It is not to be understood in the spiritual work of God,
that one natural body, either of man or woman, is either taken
out of, or joined to another; but as man and woman are terms
used to express the joint body and relation in the natural crea-
tion of man ; so they are used in regard to the spiritual work of
God.
27. To this spiritual relation the Apostle refers, and brings
v. 31, the natural as a figure of the spiritual, when he says, For this
cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be
joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. And
therefore, as the very essence of male implies also the female, the
Eph.
32.
B. VIII. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 389
same applies to the woman, to leave mother and father, and be chap, vi.
joined to her corresponding relation in the same spiritual work.
28. This, says the Apostle, is a great mystery ; but I speak
concerning Christ and concerning the Church. To the same
thing he refers, when he says, He that is joined to the Lord is ^OT- Vl
one Spirit. And from such a union and correspondence, arises
the substance of all those spiritual attributes in the new creation,
or work of redemption, such as the bridegroom — the bride, the
Lamb's wife — brethren and sisters, and the sons and daughters
of God.
29. Hence the Apostle, speaking of the final separation
between Christ and Belial, light and darkness, the believer and
infidel, saith, Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye 2 Cor. vi.
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and
I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall
be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
30. Then, if the Church, which is called out, and separated
from the unclean, is composed of sons and daughters, they must
needs have both a father and mother, and these must be the first
foundation pillars, and joint parentage of the Church.
31. Therefore, as there was a natural Adam and Eve, who
were the first foundation pillars of the world, and the first joint
parentage of the human race ; so there is also a spiritual Adam
and Eve, (manifested in Jesus and Ann, the first joint visible
Parentage) who are the first foundation pillars of the Church, and
the invisible parentage of all the children of redemption. And
as the world, truly and properly, proceeds from father and
mother, in the line of generation ; so the Church as truly and
properly proceeds from father and mother in the line of regenera-
tion.
390 TYPES AND PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN B. VIII.
CHAPTER VII.
TYPES AND PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN THE TWO FOUNDA-
TION PILLARS.
chap. The work of Redemption, being spiritual, could not be ushered
VIL in with such ocular evidence to the natural man, as accompanies
the changes in the things of nature ; neither was man formed to
be influenced solely by such kind of evidence.
2. But as man is a natural creature, endowed with a spirit and
rational faculties, therefore the spiritual work of God must be
exhibited in a spiritual light ; and although the natural eyes may
often be the medium through which the truth of natural things
is conveyed to the mind, yet it must be the mind, and not the
natural eyes, that receives the conviction of its truth and reality.
3. And as the new creation was to have respect to the soul and
spirit of man, it is only by the spirit that the work itself can be dis-
covered in its true nature ; and therefore the evidence by which
it is discovered, is addressed to the mind, and not to the bodily
senses.
4. A Saviour was born for souls that were lost in their sins,
and only such as were absolutely saved, could know or rightly
name him ; and unto such as were waiting for redemption in the
latter day, Christ was to appear the second time without sin, and
none but such could possibly know him, or give him his true and
just titles.
5. And nothing could possibly recommend him to the mind of
man, with greater evidence, than his first giving them types,
figures, prophecies, and visions, of his future appearance, and
then coming in such a manner as expressly to fulfil them, and to
render any other fulfilment of them absolutely impossible : this
we certify has been the case.
6. And when those types and prophecies are stated, with their
true accomplishment, the matter may be at once decided, that
such as do not acknowledge Christ in his second appearing, must
either deny the truth of the Scriptures, or they are not looking
for redemption, but are in pursuit of some other object that has
blinded their understanding.
7. We have already shown the similitude between the first and
second Adam, in a number of particulars, which prove that the
second Adam could not be the antetype of the first, short of ex-
isting as spiritual male and female, being both male and female in
a spiritual sense.
B. VIII. THE TWO FOUNDATION PILLARS. 391
8. And as the Apostle expressly affirms that the first Adam is Cy^p'
the figure of him who zoas to come, it cannot be denied, that he
who was to come, should be male and female, unless it be denied Rom,T'43'
that he who was the figure, was male and female in the day that
he was created.
9. The same remark will apply to every other person who was
chosen as a type of Christ. So that the woman must appear in
Christ, in her proper order and lot ; unless the utmost violence
is used in distorting the natural similitude, and forcing her out
of her proper place there, and consequently from her just
and equal correspondent union and relation in the work of re-
demption.
10. Volumes might be written on this subject, were it neces-
sary to trace out the correspondence between the shadow and the
substance in every particular. However, the present work will
not admit of enlarging ; and such as are in any measure
acquainted with the Scriptures, and really desire the truth, will
be able to make the application, from the slightest comparison.
11. As figures or similitudes come the nearest to the natural
understanding, we shall first notice a few particular things, by
which Christ was represented ; and next, a few leading prophecies,
which may serve as a key to all the rest.
12. Abraham and Sarah (whose names signify great father,
and 'princess of multitude) were particular figures of Christ in
his first and second appearing, inasmuch as Christ the promised
seed was called in Isaac, their joint issue, who was begotten by
promise, in which Sarah was jointly and inseparably included
with Abraham.
13. The same may be said of Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and See Gen.
Rachel. Hence the Apostle speaks of the female as well as the ^; l^-t^'.
male, when he mentions the patriarchs as types of Christ. And
had not Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, conceived by faith, and in
the line of one promise, the posterity of the Patriarchs, in point
of figurative goodness, would not have been distinguished from
the rest of mankind.
14. So that the only distinguishing goodness that ever was, or
can be manifest on this earth, has first come in the natural order
through woman's conceiving according to promise. And there-
fore, whoever denies this, must deny the distinction between the
seed of Hagar and Sarah, of Leah and Rachel, and either suppose
that the Patriarch, including the free woman was a type of Christ,
without any regard to his seed, or that he was no type at all.
15. Moses also, in his mission for Christ, was an eminent type
of Christ's first and second appearing : A prophet, said he, will Acts, iii.
the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me, him shall
ye hear. Many striking things wherein Moses resembled Jesus,
this Prophet, have been stated by many writers.
392
TYrES AND PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN B. VIII.
CHAP.
VII.
Heb. vii.
14.
Heb x. 1.
Exodus,
xxxi. 18, &
xxxii. 16,
19.
1G. But the most important similitude, was his being raised
up to deliver Israel, from the bondage of Egypt; a most striking
figure of Jesus Christ delivering his people from the worse than
Egyptian bondage, of this world. Yet Moses, in the order of
his work, could not be a perfect type of Jesus Christ : but many
other similitudes were necessarily shown under the Law to com-
plete the typical representation of the Messiah and his work.
17. One in particular, may be mentioned, in connection with
him. Zipporah, in forsaking her own people, and her father's
house, and following Moses, suffering in the perils and toils of
the wilderness, while journeying to the promised land, and thus
becoming conjoined to him as it were a mother to Israel, was an
eminent type of the chosen female, who forsook her own people
and her father' 's house, and followed Jesus Christ, through the
sufferings, perils, and toils of the vyildemess of this world, for the
kingdom of heaven's sake, and thus became conjoined with him,
the Mother of the spiritual Israel.
18. The Lord seeth not as man seeth. Jesus, in whom Christ
first appeared, " was reckoned from Judah, of which tribe
Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. ' ' Thus the priesthood
was changed, and Christ came out of their sight ; and thus he
went away ; and so in like manner, must he come again.
19. The truth is, Christ cometh not by observation, first nor
last ; neither lo here, nor lo there, from this tribe, nor that tribe ;
but by being revealed and made manifest in his true character,
according to the types, promises, prophecies, and visions of his
appearing, which God has given from age to age, and from time
to time.
20. Not only typical persons, both male and female, were
many, but numerous typical things, in the order of two, were
exhibited throughout the law and the Prophets. The law was a
shadow of good things to come ; and in the most striking particu-
lars, pointed out two dispensations of the appearing of Christ.
21. The first appearing of Christ, and the great apostacy
which followed, was signified by the two first tables of the cove-
nant, upon which the law of God was written. The tables were
written with the finger of God — and the tables were the toork of
God, and the writing, was the writing of God, graven upon
the tables. These prefigured the revelation and the law of God,
given to Christ Jesus, who was neither begotten nor born after
the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by the power of God.
22. These two tables were broken in pieces, as they approached
nigh unto the camp of Israel, by reason of idolatry. So the
truth was trodden under foot, and the power of the holy people
scattered, by the setting up of a false worship after the Apostles'
days, although the kingdom of heaven had come nigh unto
them.
B. VIII.
THE TWO FOUNDATION 1'ILLARS.
393
Heb. ix. G,
8.
23. Then, after the first tables were broken, the Lord said chap.
unto Moses, Hew thee two tables like unto the first ; and I will
write upon the tables the words that, were in the first tables, ^f^
which thou brakest.
24. Which signified, that the revelation of God in Christ's
second appearing, should be given to one who was begotten and
born after the flesh, in the common course of nature. And as God
wrote in the second tables, the same words that were in the first, it
signified that the work of Christ's second appearing, should be
built upon the foundation of his first appearing, and that the
work of both should be united in one, and under the inspiration
of one Spirit.
25. The tabernacle also, was a striking figure of the manifes-
tation of Christ. It was separated by a vail in two apartments,
the holy and most holy, which is also called the sanctuary. The
tabernacle was movable, and typified the tabernacle of human
nature, in which Christ first appeared; it also typified the
Church of his first appearing, which was movable from place to
place, and was not abiding; and the two dispensations of his
work, in his first and second appearing, were signified by those
two apartments.
26. " The priests went always into the first tabernacle, accom-
plishing the service of God : but into the second went the high
priest alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for
himself, and for the errors of the people : The Holy Spirit this
signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet
made manifest, while the first tabernacle toas yet sta?iding."
27. And this further signified, that Christ could not make his
second appearing, to establish his Church without spot or wrinkle,
while the visible order of the then Gospel Church was yet stand-
ing : and as the second temple was built after the pattern of the
first, so the Church is properly the antetype of the temple in its
completed order.
28. The Apostle, speaking also of those things within the vail,
says, of which ive cannot now speak particularly. The true Heb. ix s.
reason why the Apostle could not speak particularly of that part,
was, that it had not yet received its accomplishment.
29. Jesus, in the first appearing of Christ, when anointed
with his Spirit, was the true antetype of the first part of the ta-
bernacle; and, when his work was finished, the vail of the second
temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom : which sig-
nified the entrance of Jesus Christ into the holiest of all, through
the vail, to prepare the way for Christ's second appearing, in
which he would reveal the order of the second tabernacle, when
the vail, that is to say, the flesh, should be taken away.
30. Therefore, as Jesus Christ is revealed in the second part
of his manhood, and has completed the order of God pertaining
26
Mat. xxvii.
51. 2 Cor.
iii. 15, 16.
Heb. x. 20.
394 TYPES AND PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN B. VIII.
c^p- to the work of redemption, we may take some further notice of
- those things in the tabernacle, by which the true order of God
was particularly typified.
31. The tabernacle, including the holy and most holy places,
was in length thirty cubits, in breadth ten cubits, and in height
ten cubits, and the vail or partition, made twenty cubits for the
holy place, and ten for the most holy. So that the first sanctuary
was oblong, not perfect in its order. But the most holy was
four-square ; the length and breadth, and height of it were equal.
Yet the latter was only separated from the former by a vail, and
the former was preparatory to the latter.
32. Within the vail, was the ark of the covenant, the length
of which was two cubits and a half, the breadth one cubit and a
half, and the height one cubit and a half. And Upon the sides
were two staves to bear the ark, and these staves were not to be
taken away from it.
33. And in the ark were put the two tables of the covenant.
And over the ark was the mercy-seat of pure gold. And upon
the ends of the mercy-seat, were two cherubims of beaten gold,
and their wings were stretched on high, so that they covered the
mercy-seat with their wings.
Ex. xxv. 34. Thus the Lord said unto Moses, " In the ark thou shalt
put the testimony that I shall give thee : and there I will meet
with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-
seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of
the testimony."
35. These things were patterns of things in the heavens, but
they were not the heavenly things themselves : They were given
of God. to show forth his unchangeable purpose, in the order and
Heb. viii.5. work of man's redemption: for see, said he to Moses, that thou
make all things according to the 'pattern showed to thee in the
mount.
36. The testimony of the covenant, being engraven by the
finger of God in the tioo tables of stone, typified the new cove-
nant written in the hearts of the two first Heirs of this everlasting
covenant. The mercy-seat upon the ark over the testimony, and
between the cherubims, typified the place of God's residence and
throne, in the midst between the two, the man and woman
anointed with the holy Spirit of Christ.
37. The testimony of the covenant, being written in the two
tables, and concealed under the mercy-seat, typified the invisible
law and revelation of God upon which the Church is built ; and
the visible administration of that law and testimony by two, was
typified by the two cherubims.
38. These two cherubims were of wrought gold, of beaten
work, "beaten out of one piece," which signified that they pro-
ceeded from the one pure Spirit of Christ, manifested in the order
B. VIII.
THE TWO FOUNDATION PILLARS.
395
CHAP.
VII.
Jer. xxiii.
29.
of two, male a,udfe?nale, and thus representing the original order
of that Divine Spirit from which they proceeded, they being of
beaten work, was figurative of the mortification and sufferings,
which the two anointed ones, in Christ's first and second appear-
ing, were to pass through, in order to prepare them for the work
whereunto they were anointed.
39. Their being placed on the two ends of the mercy-seat, and
their faces looking towards each other, and towards the mercy-
seat, their wings touching each other, signified the unity of the
two anointed ones, looking towards the perfection of the divine
work in the merciful displays of salvation, by the laws and work See Eze
of purity and holiness among mankind. Their wings being spread chap, i &
out on high, covering the mercy-seat, signified that their whole
work was in mercy to raise souls heavenward.
40. As gold is tried and purified by fire, and wrought under
a hammer ; so the Spirit and word of Grod is both a fire and a
hammer, by which all things must be tried and wrought, that
will ever stand in God's spiritual building.
41. Solomon's temple, which was the brightest figure of the
spiritual house of G-od that ever was presented to the human eye,
consisted of two parts, the holy and the most holy ; representing
the Church of Christ in his first and second appearing, in a more
striking manner than it had been represented by the tabernacle.
42. The whole length of the temple was sixty cubits, in breadth
twenty cubits, and in height thirty cubits ; and the most holy
within the temple, was again four-square, being twenty cubits
each way; its length and breadth and height were equal.
43. The cherubims in the most holy place of the temple, were
each ten cubits in height, of one measure and of one size : and
the wing of the one cherub touched the wall of the house on one
side, and the wing of the other touched the wall on the other
side ; and their wings touched each other in the midst of the
house ; and the mercy-seat was placed between the two cherubims.
44. These things represented the extent of Christ's dominion
on both sides, in man and woman, as from sea to sea, and showed
the correspondent relation in the two anointed ones, between
whom is placed the testimony and the covenant of everlasting
life, where mercy and truth are met together, and righteousness
and peace kiss each other.
45. Besides these figures in the most holy place, two pillars
were also reared up in the porch of the temple ; the first was
called Jachin, i.e. he that strengthens and makes stedfast ; and
the second was called Boaz, i.e. in strength. So that when the
temple was finished, it could not be entered but between tico.
Thus, Christ in his first appearing, was a pillar, strong and
steadfast ; and his second appearing was in the strength of the
first.
Psal Jxxli.
S; Ixxxv.
10, 11.
1 Kings,
vii. 21.
396 TYPES AND PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN B. VIII.
chap. 46. It is also attested, in ancient records, that the entrance
'. — into the temple was by a door, on the right hand post of -which,
was written, Father ; and on the left hand post, Mother. So
that the temple could be entered only by going between the
two.
47. Thus, typical persons and typical things, in the most
striking particulars, evidently show the purposes of God, in regard
to the order of the spiritual work in Christ, to be in the order of
two dispensations, and by two anointed ones ; which, beyond all
reasonable dispute, have had the beginning of their accomplish-
ment, and have been confirmed by many infallible proofs ; first
through Christ Jesus, and in the Church which he established at
his first appearing ; and second through Mother Ann, and in the
Church which, through her, was established in this day of Christ's
second appearing.
48. But to these types, no antetype can be found in the anti-
christian world: for they have rendered every comparison de-
fective, by excluding the woman from her proper lot and order in
Christ, and from her joint and correspondent relation, and true
heirship in the work of redemption.
49. This appears evident from their doctrine of three distinct
personalities in the Diety, all in the masculine gender : First,
the Father ; second, the Son ; and third, the Holy Ghost. ; He
proceeding from Father and Son, from everlasting, without the
attribute of either Mother or Daughter. To complete their
heterogeneous system, they unite two distinct and contrary
natures in the Son of God ; and finally look for the mystery of
God to be finished in the odd number of three males.
50. Where is there any similitude, which applies to this human
invented scheme, among any of the works of God, either in
heaven or on earth ? Where is there any type or shadow, vision
or prophecy, of things animate or inanimate, that ever God gave,
from the creation of the first man, through all the Law and the
Prophets, down to the present day, that bears any relation to
such an unnatural, unscriptural, and inconsistent proposition of
attributes, without their corresponding relations ? And where
then is the correspondent cause of the woman's existence.
51. But we can testify of a truth, that Christ has verily ful-
filled the Scripture types, in such a manner, that they can never
be fulfilled by any thing else, while the world stands : And the
more reasonable and unprejudiced the mind of man becomes, the
more exactly, in every particular, will those figures appear to
have their accomplishment in the spiritual Father and Mother of
the true children of promise.
52. We might further observe, that the same things were
shadowed forth under the Law by typical ceremonies; among
which the Uvo goats for the expiation of sin, is very pointed.
B. VIII. THE TWO FOUNDATION PILLARS. 397
Two goats were chosen, and presented before the Lord, to make chap.
atonement for the whole congregation of Israel. '
53. The first was taken by lot and slain, and the blood of it Lev-*v'1-
taken within the vail to make an atonement, which typified
Jesus Christ, who died on account of the sins of the world, having
been born into its sinful nature, and by sacrificing it and dying
thereto, rose out of it, and entered into the holiest of all, that is,
into heaven itself, through the vail, which was his flesh ; and thus
made an atonement for all who would sacrifice that nature as
he had done.
54. Afterwards the high priest returned, typifying a return i Tim. ii.
of the spirit power and authority of the Divine High Priest, to l2'
take away sin, in the final appearing of Christ, when all the
iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel were con-
fessed over the head of the scape-goat, and taken away into a
land not inhabited.
55. The Holy Spirit thus signifying, that sin could never be Het>. ix.8.
finally taken away, by all the blood that could be shed, until
Christ should come in the flesh of woman, to destroy and take
away sin from where it first entered ; and therefore, the full and
perfect order of confessing sin, once for all, was never established
until Christ's second appearing.
56. In Christ's first appearing, Jesus died for and to the sins
of the world; but there was none who remained in a joint and
corresponding relation and equality with him, to receive the con-
fession, and to bear them away. And therefore the first gift and
revelation of G-od through Mother, for the final expiation of sin,
was a full and final confession of sins, and a full salvation from
all sin as the consequence.
57. So that in the first and second appearing of Christ, both
in the man and in the woman, the figure of the two goats was
perfectly fulfilled, and which never was, nor can be fulfilled in
any thing else.
58. It is worthy of special remark that the last standing law
given by Moses, which represented a spiritual work, was a sacri-
fice in the line of the female. The waters of purification were to
be made of the ashes of a red heifer "put into running water."
This, after a practical confession to the priest, was to be used by
him, to sprinkle and purify all persons and things whatever, that
were counted unclean, under the law ; and no sacrifice, nor pass-
ing through the fire, could finally cleanse any thing under the Num. ch.
law without the application of this purifying water This was a ^j&23
statute to Israel forever.
59. How clearly does this prefigure that it must be by confes-
sion, and the application of the same purifying sufferings, and
baptism of the holy waters of life, which the first redeemed
female passed through, that can finally take away sin; for the
398 TYPES AND PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN, &C. B. VIII.
chap, heifer being red, and passing through both fire and water, signi-
. fies that it is by the fire of tribulation, the waters of repentance,
and the washing of regeneration, that all this is effected; so that
sin could never be finally cleansed from the soul until the Dis-
pensation of the female.
60. As this was the finishing type of the figurative work of the
law, to prepare the people to enter the sanctuary ; so the sub-
stance is the finishing spiritual work of the Gospel, to prepare
souls for the heavenly state.
Num. x. 2- 61. To these typical things may be added the two silver trum-
11 pets, which the Lord commanded Moses to make, of one whole
'piece, and which were to be used among the children of Israel on
occasion of assembling themselves together in separate assemblies ;
in their journeyings, and in their wars with their enemies ; on
gathering together the whole congregation to the tabernacle ; and
on all such important occasions they were to be a memorial before
God, and an ordinance forever throughout their generations.
62. These two trumpets were also typical of the two dis-
pensations of the Gospel, or Christ's first and second appearing.
The Gospel or testimony of Jesus is compared to a trumpet.
In the first appearing of Christ, the first Gospel trumpet was
sounded; and in his second appearing, the second trumpet is
Joel, ii. i. sounded, which is called the last trumpet — by which the alarm
is sounded in God's holy mountain, and by which the Gospel of
salvation is sounded, and the gathering together unto Christ is
effected. These are also typical of the trumpets of the everlast-
ing Gospel, which will be sounded to a lost world, both by male
and female Gospel heralds.
63. Thus, were it necessary, it might be shown wherein the
whole typical and ceremonial law has its full and final accom-
' V111' 20, plishment in the second appearing of Christ. To the Law and
to the testimony of the Prophets ; if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them.
B. VIII. PROMISES FULFILLED IN, &C. 399
CHAPTER VIII.
PROPHECIES AND PROMISES FULFILLED IN THE PARENTAGE
OF THE NEW CREATION.
The prophecies concerning the two foundation pillars in the work chap.
of redemption, are, to the mind that is in any degree spiritual, vni;
still more plain, copious and convincing, than the types and
shadows given in the Law. Were we to bring all that the Pro-
phets have uttered on this particular subject, and to state every
thing in its proper light of correspondence, a large volume would
contain but a very small portion. A few particulars, however,
are necessary to be noticed at this time.
2. David, by the spirit of prophecy, in the forty-fifth Psalm,
speaks expressly of the male and the female, in Christ's first and
second appearing, in the following words: "My heart is inditing
a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touch-
ing the King: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou
art fairer than the children of men : grace is poured into thy
lips: therefore God hath blessed the forever."
3. " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 0 most Mighty, with thy
glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously,
because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness ; and thy right
hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in
the hearts of the King's enemies ; whereby the people fall under
thee. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever : the sceptre of Heb. i. 3.
thy kingdom is a right sceptre.''
4. This has long been applied to Jesus Christ, the Son of
God ; but this is not all : as distinct a character relating to the
Daughter, as the first in the line of the female is evidently de-
scribed, as follows :
5. "King's daughters were among thy honorable women. Upon Psai.xiv.8,
thy right hand did stand the Queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken,
O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear ; forget also,
thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the King
greatly desire thy beauty : for he is thy Lord ; and worship
thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift :
even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor."
6. " The king's daughter is all glorious within ; her clothing
is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in rai-
ment of needle work : the virgins, her companions that follow
her, shall be brought unto thee; with gladness and rejoicing
shall they be brought : they shall enter into the king's palace.
Instead of thy fathers, shall be thy children, whom thou may est
400 PROMISES FULFILLED IN B. VIII.
Cvfu1>' ma^e princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be re-
! — membered in all generations : therefore shall the people praise
thee for ever a?id ever."
7. As it is sufficiently evident that the prophecy concerning
the So?i, alluded to a particular person, and not to any collective
body called the Church ; so it is as evident, that the Daughter
must have as particular allusion, and so must her children, the
virgins, her companions that follow her.
isa. ix. e. 8. And as the one was to be a child born, a son given, whose
name should be called, the everlasting Father ; so the other was
to be as expressly fulfilled in one who should be called the ever-
lasting Mother: for she that hath children and companions that
follow her, must be both a mother and a leader.
9. Therefore, the truth is, that the prophecy has had its com-
plete fulfillment, in such a manner as entirely to exclude every
other comment or application ; being first of all fulfilled in Christ
Jesus, the Father, and secondly in Ann Lee, the anointed Mother
of our redemption, and the followers of her example, who were
begotten and brought forth by the word of life as her spiritual
children, and who constitute the Church of Christ in this day of
his second appearing.
10. The promise of God. through the Prophet Jeremiah, in
regard to salvation by Christ, was also expressly made to be ful-
filled in the order of the male and female : first distinctly to one
male ; and secondly, to the male and female in their correspondent
relation.
11. Of the first he saith: "Behold the days come, saith the
Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a
king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and
Israel shall dwell safely ; and this is the name whereby he shall
jer.xxiii. fe cane^ fHE lord 0UR Righteousness.
12. And of the second he says : " Behold, the days come, saith
ch. xxxiii. the Lord, that I vAll perform that good thing which I have pro-
14-16 mised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah. In
those days, and at that time, J will cause the branch of righteous-
ness to grow up unto David ; and he (she) shall execute judgment
and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved,
and Jerusalem shall dwell safely : and this is the name where-
with she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness.
13. Doubtless, it appeard very new and strange to the Jews,
to apply the first of these prophecies to the son of a carpenter ;
and no less strange it may appear to the great and wise of the
present day, to apply the second to the. daughter of a blacksmith.
But as certain as the carpenter's son, as they called him, was
the he, who set the example of righteousness for all men ; so
certain the blacksmith's daughter was the she, who has set the
B. VIII. THE PARENTAGE OP THE NEW CREATION. 401
example of righteousness for all women ; andin her proper order, CvinP'
is the Lord our righteousness, or the manifestation of God in the —
flesh, according to the promise of the latter day. *
14. And, therefore, as the righteousness of the latter day was to
be infinite ; comprehending both he and she, male and female, it
could not enter but by something new and strange : as it is written
of the new creation by the same Prophet: " The Lord hath created T
a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man. 22.
15. After the kingdom of Israel had risen to its height of tem-
poral glory, and' the spiritual temple, or Church of Christ's first
and second appearing, had been typified by the temple at large,
the people fell into idolatry, which brought on the Babylonian
captivity.
16. By this was typified the spiritual captivity, or falling away
from that power and order in which the primitive Church stood,
as had in part been signified by the breaking of the first two
tables of the covenant made with typical Israel ; and this spirit-
ual captivity, and treading under foot the holy city, would con-
tinue until the time for the building of the perfect Gospel Church,
which was typified by the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem.
17. Then, at the return from the captivity, the second temple
was built upon the foundation of the first ; but not in every
respect in full imitation thereof: for the substance of that was
shortly to be fulfilled by the coming of Christ, to set up a spiritual
temple ; but in outward imitation of the inward temple, or most
holy place, which pointed to the Church of Christ in his second
appearing.
18. And therefore the second temple was built more complete
in its outward form, and more extensive in its size, being in length
sixty cubits, in breadth sixty cubits, and in height sixty cubits,
in form four square, t This still pointed to God's spiritual
* Whatever application may be made of these passages of Jeremiah, by natural
men, whose learned sagacity is confined to the letter of Scripture, and who con-
sequently confine the pronouns he and she to the names Israel and Jerusalem
as the antecedents, certain it is, that no just application can be made contrary to
that which is here given : for, as the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem
were typical of God's Church and people, who are the offspring of the male and
female in the work of regeneration ; so, in their salvation, they can ascribe the
glory to the parents of their redemption, knowing that, through them, the way
of righteousness is made manifest ; and therefore, it is with the greatest propriety
that both he and she, are called the Lord our righteousness.
fit is proper here to remark, that all those extraordinary patterns, which, in the
inner court of the first temple, and most holy place of the tabernacle, had pointed
out the order and glory of God's spiritual building, were not in this second temple.
The ark with the two tables of the covenant were lost by the captivity; the two
cherubims and cloud of glory, which overshadowed the mercy-seat; the Urim and
Thummim fi.e. light and perfection) were also lost, and the fire from heaven upon
the altar, was no more. This fire, it is said, was restored by Nehemiah. So in
the captivity of the saints, in spiritual Babylon, (which continued during the reign • efJ^
of antichrist,) the true order of the Church, and all that pertained to it, were lost l" l^~*2,
or trodden under foot. Hence their place was supplied by prophetic revelation,
in the second temple. See Haggai and Zech.
402
PROMISES FULFILLED IN
B. VIII.
CHAP.
VIII.
Hag. ii.
6,7.
Zech. iv.
2, 3, 6, 9.
See mar.
Bible.
Rev. iv. 5.
t Zerubabel
i.e. a stran-
ger at Bab-
ylon or dis-
persion of
confusion.
Exo. xxv.
37. Rev. i.
4. v. 6.
building, the holy city of the latter day, as the most holy place
in the tabernacle, and first temple, had done before it. Its
length, and breadth, and height were equal; signifying universal
justice and righteousness.
19. That the building of the second • temple alluded to the
building of God's spiritual house in the latter day, may be under-
stood from the Prophet Haggai. " Thus, saith the Lord of hosts,
yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and
the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all
nations, and the desire * of all nations shall come, and I will
fill this house with my glory, saith the Lord of hosts."
20. Then as this temple, prefigured the spiritual house of God
in the latter day, and those extraordinary patterns, which per-
tained to the first temple, were now lost by the captivity,
therefore they were again supplied by vision and prophecy, and
other things of the same nature added, at the building of this
second temple.
21. For this purpose was the remarkable vision of the Prophet
Zeehariah, which is particularly worthy of notice. Thus in reply
to the angel he said : "I have looked, and behold a candlestick all
of gold, with a boiol upon the top of it, and his seven lamps (in the
original, seven sevens) signifying the seven spirits of God, in the
order of both male and female, united in the same work thereon,
and seven pipes to the seven lamps — and tivo olive trees by it, one
upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side
thereof."
22. And the angel said, "This is the word of the Lord unto
Zerubbabel, t saying not by might nor by power, [not by the
carnal weapons of an army] but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this
house, his hands shall also finish it: and thou shalt know that
the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you."
23. The candlestick of gold, signified the truth and revelation
of God, by the light of which his Church or spiritual house is
built ; and supplied the place of the ark of the covenant, which
contained the law of God, under the mercy-seat. And the bowl
upon the top of the candlestick, between the two olive trees, pre-
figured the Church, the receiver of the oil and life, for all souls,
the same as did the mercy-seat between the two cherubims.
24. And the seven lamps are the seven spirits of God, which
are before his throne, and answer to the seven golden candlesticks
of perpetual light before the ark, by which the ministers per-
formed the service of God in relation to the people. And the
seven pipes to the seven lamps, signified the various gifts, through
which the ministrations of the spirit should be conveyed to the
* In Hebrew a noun singular of the feminine gender, as the best grammarians
agree.
B. VIII. THE PARENTAGE OF THE NEW CREATION.
403
members of the Church, and through them in the same order
to the world.
25. The two "olive trees" answering to the " two cherubims,"
signifying the Christ, in the combined order of male and female.
By their spirit the "two witnesses" prophecied. And they are
the foundation pillars of the Church in the divine order.
CHAP.
VIII.
"two olive
" two
trees
are
" Uvo olive
empty the
Zech. iii.
6,7.
26. And besides these
branches" which, through " tu-o golden pipes
"golden oil out of themselves" these "tivo olive branches"
represented Jesus and Ann, who are the "two anointed ones who
stand by the Lord (or Christ) of the whole earth."
27. Therefore, through these two Branches the Divine Spirit of
Christ was revealed on earth, according to the true order in the
heavens, as typified by the two olive trees. And the "golden
pipes " through which the two olive branches emptied the golden,
oil out of themselves, are the two chosen ones in the order of male
and female, which continue in the same line, to empty the pure
oil into the golden bowl, or Church, to supply the lamps with the
light of revelation ; and thus will ever continue to do.
28. Now that the purpose and promise of God, in relation to
the two anointed ones, or foundation pillars of his spiritual build-
ing, were to be fulfilled in the order of male and female, may be
clearly understood from the following prophecies unto Joshua,
the type of Jesits the Saviour.
29. "And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, say-
ing, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk hi my
ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also
judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give
thee places to walk in among these that stand by."
30. The charge here given to Joshua, typically related to the
Mediators of the first and second appearing of Christ, and which
Jesus punctually fulfilled during his ministry on earth, accord-
ing to his own words: / have kept my Father's commandments.
I do always those things that please him. I have finished the
vjork which thou gavest me to do. By which he laid and estab-
lished the foundation of man's redemption ; and G-od appointed
him to be the Head, and first Heir of all things to his Church, and
the Judge and Ruler in his spiritual house.
31. But the promise of G-od in Christ Jesus, respected also
another, in a joint relation with the first. " Hear now, 0 Joshua Zech. iii. 8,
the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee ; for they 10,
are men wondered at: for behold, I tvill bring forth my servant
the Branch." "In that day saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call Micah,iv.
every man his neighbor under the vine, and under the fig tree."
32. This prophecy concerning the Branch, alludes particu-
larly to Christ's coming in the latter day, to set up his kingdom
and complete the order in the foundation of his spiritual build-
John, viii.
29. xv. 10
xvii. 4.
404 PROMISES FULFILLED IN E. VIII.
CvuF iQS' when the promise of God should be fulfilled in "both the
_ anointed ones. Therefore, the same charge was also to the branch,
which was completed by the female, who punctually fulfilled it
during her ministry ; and the same charge and promise will re-
main to their successors forever.
33. Again, the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,
Zech-vi. ;< Take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon
the head of Joshua. And speak unto him, saying: "Thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts — behold the man ivhose name is the
Branch ; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall
build the temple of the Lord." So that Zerubbabel and the
Branch are typically one and the same.
34. Even they shall build the temple of the Lord; and they
shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne ; and
they shall be priests upon their (this is the plain reading, accord-
ing to the context) throne : and the council of peace shall be
Ibid. 13. BETWEEN THEM BOTH."
35. Here, then, are tioo particular and principal persons spoken
of. The first is Joshua, that is, Jesus ; and to him, and in him
was the promise of the second, who was called the Branch, who
was to grow up out of his place and build the temple of the Lord.
36. Theirs*, as has been observed, is called He, the Lord
our Righteousness ; and the second, She, the Lord our
Righteousness. These are the two olive Branches, proceed-
ing from the two olive trees, through which the Church of Grod is
nourished and supplied with the oil of life and joy, and from
which the meek are beautified with salvation.
37. These are The Two Anointed Ones, who stand by the
Lord of the whole earth ; and the counsel of peace is between
them both. And by, and through these, the male and the
female find each their correspondent relation to the great First
Cause, from vmom all order and perfection flows, and their joint
union and relation to each other in the work of eternal redemption.
38. And through these two anointed ones, between whom the
counsel of Cod is placed, Cod has promised, saying, and they
isai. ixi.9. that are far off shall come and bicild in the temple of the Lord.
And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their
offspring among the people ; all that see them shall acknow-
ledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.
39. To the same spiritual union and relation alludes the
prophecy of Micah : " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of theeshall
Micah v. i, he come forth unto me, that is to be Ruler in Israel.'''' This part
of the prophecy particularly alludes to Jesus, in Christ's first.
iPet. 1,2. appearing, through whom the going forth of the Divine Spirit
into the world, was manifested for an endless increase.
40. Therefore will he give them up, [i.e. they shall fall
B. VIII. THE PARENTAGE OP THE NEW CREATION.
405
away] until the time that She which travaileth hath brought
forth ; then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the
children of Israel ;" that is, those who have been faithful to
keep the testimony of the two witnesses — such will gather to the
true Israel of God. This part of the prophecy particularly alludes
to Ann Lee, in Christ's second appearing. " And he * shall
stand and feed in the strength of the Lord his God ; and They
[that is, He and She, the Two Anointed Ones] shall abide :
for nolo shall he {they) be great unto the ends of the earth."
41. The same Prophet Micah, also speaks of the most import-
ant parts of the prophecy as being fulfilled in the line of the
female, which had not their accomplishment in Christ's first ap-
pearing ; but are gradually and progressively accomplishing in
this day of his second appearing.
42. "And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the
daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first domi-
nion ; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like
a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the
city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to
Babylon ; [literally fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity, and
spiritually in the dominion of antichrist ;] there the Lord shall
redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies."
43. " Now, also many nations are gathered against thee, that
say, let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they
know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his
counsel : for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion ; for I will make thine
horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass ; and thou shalt beat
in pieces many people ; and I will consecrate their gain unto the
Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth."
44. This is a most perfect description of the work wrought
through the Mother in Christ ; for many people have been beaten
and broken in pieces from the ties of the flesh, from all selfish
interests, and the honors and pleasures of the world, and have
thus consecrated themselves, and all their gain and substance
to the Lord, in a united capacity, to be enjoyed by the house-
hold of faith, so that all fare alike, and there are none rich or
poor ; showing, thereby, that practical love, by which all men
may know that they are Christ's disciples.
45. Where this order cannot be maintained, there is no evidence
of a true Church of Christ. But it has been established and
maintained for more than sixty years among the spiritual children
of Mother Ann. Who, then, can deny that she is the daughter
here prophesied of?
* This word he, according to the context, should evidently be they, and so on n
the line last.
CHAP.
VIII.
See Dan.
ix. 26. xi.
31. xh 7.
& 2 Thes.
i.3.
Micah, iv.
2 to 13.
See also
Jer li. 20
to 23. com-
pared with
Zech. xii.
9 lo 14. Sc
Malt. xxiv.
19, 30. and
Rev. i. T.
J no. 13. 34.
406
PROMISES FULFILLED IN
13. VIII.
CHAP.
VIII.
Zeph. iii.
9, 10.
Matt.
2.
Luke, xxi.
34, 35.
Matt. xxv.
1 to 14.
46. Also the Prophet Zephaniah: "For then will I turn to
the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the
name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. From beyond
the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, even the daughter of my
dispersed, shall bring mine offering."
47. It is further evident, not only from the writings of the
Apostles, but from the parables and testimony of Christ Jesus
himself, that his second appearing was to be in the order of the
female. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king,
ivhich made a marriage for his son.
48. Here the God of heaven is likened to an earthly king, and
his Son, to the son of a mortal. But wherein does this likeness
consist? The similitude is so natural and pointed, that it cannot
be mistaken, nor misapplied, without the greatest perversion.
49. It was Jesus Christ's usual manner to speak in parables,
and to condescend to the state of mankind, and convey the nature
of spiritual things by natural similitudes ; and therefore, to speak
after the manner of men, had the anointed Son of God remained
in his first capacity, without completing the order of his manhood,
there could have been no similitude in the case of which he
was speaking.
50. Christ Jesus entered the world in the morning of a great
day, which was a day of preparation for his marriage, and the
setting up of his everlasting kingdom : and that day was to pass
away before the solemn scene could commence : his oxen and
fatlings were to be killed, and all things made ready.
51. Souls were not invited to come immediately into that
kingdom ; but they were taught to pray for it to come ; and were
invited to be ready, against the time when he should appear in
his glory. And they were warned to watch and pray, and not to
be overcome with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this
life, lest that day should come upon them unawares, like a
thief. For as a snare, said Jesus, shall it come on all them
that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
52. To the same import is also the parable of the zoise and
foolish virgins, who, while the bridegroom tarried, all slumbered
and slept. There was to be a going forth to a spiritual marriage,
after which the door was to be shut.
53. The i/oi&e and foolish virgins are not imaginary beings ;
they are real persons, wise and foolish professors of the Christian
name, who equally expect Christ to make his second appearing.
54. The wise virgins are such as know that Christ is a Spirit,
who never was, nor ever could be seen with the natural eye, and
are obedient to the Spirit ; therefore, they have oil in their ves-
sels with their lamps ; their understandings being enlightened,
by the spirit of G-od, to discern the bridegroom at his coming.
The foolish virgins are those, who, being asleep in their dead
XII.
27.
B. VIII. THE PARENTAGE OF THE NEW CREATION. 407
professions, trust to their own human wisdom, in a false hope of 0$fj?'
seeing the Bridegroom according to their own carnal expectations.
55. The Bridegroom hath been long ascertained, to wit, the
Lord Jesus. But who is the Bride ? She is neither the wise nor
the foolish virgins, but a peculiar object distinct from both ; an
object which lay hid, until the fulness of time, when the reveal-
tion of God made her manifest, at the Bridegroom's coming.
56. It may be said, that the Church is the bride ; the Church
is the daughter of Zion ; the Church is the daughter of Jerusa-
lem ; the Church is the woman clothed with the sun, and so on.
It is granted that the Prophets and Apostles frequently spake of
the Church in the feminine gender.
57. "Ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ (says the Apostle) that ye should be married to another, 2Cor.xi!a!
even to him who is raised from the dead. I have espoused you to \90T
one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."
58. Then, let it be considered, that Grod never accomplished
any work on the earth, but what had a beginning. And that
Church, which was collectively called the body of Christ, and as
a virgin espoused to one husband, had, notwithstanding, its be-
ginning by a single person.
59. And therefore, as it will be granted that the Bridegroom
was a single person, who contemplated a marriage or spiritual re-
lation, which should be cotemporary with the setting up of his
kingdom in the latter day ; so it follows, beyond any reasonable
dispute, that the manifestation of his glory at his second appear- ^e.e2JjUke'
ing, was to be in this spiritual relation with his Bride ; from whom,
in a particular manner, the Church is spoken of as feminine.
60. And that this Bride was to be a peculiar object, an indivi-
dual person, and as distinct from the body, the Church collectively,
as Jesus himself was distinct from his body, the Church, in his
first appearing, and no more so. To this the Law and the Pro-
phets all point, from beginning to end, and which is also consonant
with the plainest dictates of reason.
408
REVELATIONS RELATING TO MOTHER. B. VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAP. IX.
Rev. xix.
6, 7.
Chap. xxi.
Luke
•26.
Ix.
1 Cor. xi. 7.
Isai. iv. 2.
* Marginal
Bible.
VISIONS AND REVELATIONS RELATING TO THE MOTHER OB'
THE NEW CREATION.
The same spiritual relation of Christ in the latter day, which had
been pointed out by the Law and the Prophets, was still more
clearly confirmed, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, unto his
servant John, and shows what should be ushered into the world,
in the time of its accomplishment. " The Lord G-od Omnipotent
reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him :
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made
herself ready."
2. The Spirit says not, the Church hath made herself ready,
as a body collectively ; nor yet, his wives have made themselves
ready. But as the Lamb is one, and is the Bridegroom ; so it is
said of one which is the Bride — his zvife hath made herself ready.
And after this, it is spoken of the Church, or holy city collectively,
" And I John, saw the holy city, neiv Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.'1'' Not that the city was the Bride, but that it was pre-
pared and adorned as a bride.
3. Jesus Christ, in the first appearing of the Divine Spirit,
spake much of his coming in his own glory and in the glory
of his Father, and all the holy angels. But what was that glory,
in which he was to come ? The Apostle, in the Spirit of Christ,
expressly says, the woman is the glory of the man. And the
Prophet, Isaiah, also, speaking of the Branch of the latter day,
says, in that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beauty and
GLORY.* ■
4. Then, as the man is the head of the woman, and the woman
is the glory of the man, and as Christ did verily make his first
appearing in the man, which was the first part of his manhood, it
remained (according to the types and shadows of the law, and
the prophecies, visions, and promises of God, given from time to
time) that Christ was to make his second appearing in the woman,
the second part of manhood ; and this is the glory in which he
was'to appear, with the glory of his Father, and all the holy angels.
5. And without this, the types are not answered, the prophe-
cies are not fulfilled, and the order, glory, and perfection of the
new creation, even in its external appearance, must fall short of
the old. at least one half, which cannot be. And therefore, in
any thing else, Christ could not be known, in his second appear-
ing, as the promised Saviour of the world.
B. VIII. REVELATIONS RELATING TO MOTHER. 409
6. In him was the manifestation of the Divine Majesty: as chap.ix.
said the Apostle, God Lath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son — who being the bright?icss or shilling forth of his glory, Col. ii. 9.
and [Gr. ^a^cwn^ <nj£ virosucfsus abrx] the type or character of his e 'l' ' '
lot, standing, or correspondent relation.
7. Thus, by ascending from the less to the greater, it may
appear evident, that as the woman was taken out of the man,
and is the glory of the man, and as the manifestation of the
Divine Majesty dwelt in Jesus Christ, who manifested the char-
acter of the Father's standing or correspondent relation, and by
the Holy Spirit possessed the brightness of the Father's glory ;
so Holy Wisdom was the glory and perfection in the order and
correspondent relation of the Divine Majesty, and who was as w.7'™1'
one brought up with him from everlasting.
8. And as the brightness of the Father's glory was in Christ
Jesus in his first appearing, as woman was in man when God
first created him male and female, in his own image, and after
his own likeness; so, in order to Christ's coming in his own
glory and the glory of his Father, it was necessary that the
brightness of his glory should have its abode in the first-born
woman, in the new creation, as the brightness of the Father's
glory had in the first-born man. But this could not be until
the fullness of times.
9. The rib, as it is called, or binder, was first taken out
of man, of which the Lord God formed woman, and brought her
to the man, and set her in her corresponding relation to him,
according to the order that existed in the Deity before him, and
after whose image and likeness man was made.
10. So that brightness of the Father's glory, which was in
the man Christ Jesus, and which was to constitute his future
glory, was given to his followers, after his departure, at the day
of Pentecost, as the Spirit of Promise, which was to abide with
them forever ; and by which the Church as his body, had power .
on earth to bring forth the truth, to remit and retain sins ; and
whatever they bound on earth ivas to be bound in heaven.
11. It is evident from the testimony of Jesus Christ, that he
was in the Father, and the Father in him; that the Father John. xiv.
spoke by and through him, and did the works which he wrought ; 10~28'
so that through him was the manifestation of the Father.
12. And Jesus promised saying, / will pray the Father, and ibid. xvi.
he will send you another Comforter — even the Spirit of truth, 13'
which should guide them into all truth, and show them things
to come. This clearly implied that one Comforter had already
come ; and that this other Comforter, the Spirit of truth, even
the Holy Spirit, (evidently in the female order) should finish the
work of Christ, and take up her abode and be manifested in and
through the woman, as the Father had been manifested in and
27
410 REVELATIONS RELATING TO MOTHER. B. VIII.
chap. ix. through the man; or, in other words, as the Father had been
manifested by the Son, so should the Mother be made manifest
by the Daughter.
13. Therefore, as Christ Jesus in the first part of his man-
hood, was the type, character, or representative, and filled the
lot or correspondent relation of the Eternal Father, in regard to
man's redemption ; so that the order of heaven might be dis-
played in the second part of his manhood, the woman must be
the representative, and fill the lot or correspondent relation
of the Mother. And without this manifestation, the true
order and perfection of the Eternal Parentage could never be
known.
14. And therefore the followers of Christ, as his true body,
received the Holy Spirit, "the Comforter,'" which was to them
Rom.viii. a Spirit of Promise, and led them into all truth, by which they
E-h i 13 were seale(i unto tne day of redemption, and in which they
14P " L ' groaned in travail, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemp-
tion of the whole body, female as well as male.
15. And as this redemption could be effected only in the
display of Wisdom by the Holy Spirit in the fullness of times,
yet future ; therefore she appeared in a vision to St. John, under
Rev.sii. the similitude of a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under he/ feet, and upon her head a crown of ticelve stars.
16. This signified that she was clothed with the light, and
glory of Grod, the Divine Majesty, as the sun is the light and
glory of the universe ; that her abode was above the corruptions
of an earthly fallen nature ; and that her crown and_ dominion
was composed of the twelve virtues of true godliness — the
essence of the Divine Being.
17. And although she brought forth the man-child, the first-
born Son in the new creation, who was to rule the nations ; who
was caught up to Grod and his throne, out of the reach and power
. of the dragon; yet certain it is, that in that dispensation, no
greater degree of order and perfection could be gained in the
Church, until the first-born Daughter should appear.
18. After the ascension of the Son, the Holy Spirit of Pro-
mise, the Comforter, was in the Church; and after the decline
of the Church, in the night of apostacy, and wilderness state of
the truth, the Spirit of revelation moved upon the confused chaos,
called Christian, as upon the face of the waters, or great deep of
depraved human nature. This, ecclesiastical historians call
"troubling the Church!"
19. But instead of multiplying and increasing the true spiritual
seed, the Woman is represented as fleeing into the wilderness,
and abode with these persecuted witnesses, who fed her there
for the space of twelve hundred and sixty days, or years, during
the dominion of the beast.
B. VIII. REVELATIONS RELATING TO MOTHER. 411
20. But while the Witnesses were bearing their testimony chap.ix.
against the growing corruptions and vices of a false Church, and
in support of virtue and righteousness, there was war in heaven :
Michael [i.e. Perfect, who is like God,] and his angels fought
against the dragon and his angels; that is, the perfect and
united spirit of the Tico Witnesses, having received power,
began to contend for that perfect and full redemption which God
had promised in the latter day. And they overcame the dragon
by the blood of the Lamb, that is, by living his life, and by the
word of their testimony; and the dragon, that old serpent was
cast out of the sanctuary, which had been so long trodden under
foot ; for the time of its cleansing had come.
21. And therefore, in the issue of this war the way was pre-
pared, and the time had fully come, the same Holy Spirit of the
woman clothed with the sun, and who brought forth the man-
child, was revealed in the "woman" as her daughter and repre-
sentative, to whom "were given two wings of a great eagle, that
she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she was
nourished for a. time and times, and half a time, from the
face of the serpent.''''
22. And this same Holy Spirit of the woman, "clothed with
the sun," having now been revealed in this woman, the chosen
and second " Anointed One," and having purified and redeemed
her, and united her to the first spiritual man, or first " Anointed
One," in the work of final redemption, then and not till then,
was it truly and unequivocally said, " Now is come salvation and Rev> ^
strength, and the kingdom, or the dwelling place of our God, 10-
and the poiver of his Christ: " which never could properly and
truly be said before.
23. For as the man hath not power of his own body, but the i cor. yii.
woman; hence, by the woman, is the power of the man made •
perfect. So Christ in man alone, could have no power of his
body, the Church, for full redemption but by the Woman.
24. And therefore the woman, in the work of redemption, is
strictly the power of Christ Jesus in the fullness and perfection
of his order ; and by this union of the Holy Spirit, between the
man and the woman, the accuser of the brethren was cast down,
and both male and female overcame him, and all his false and
foul accusations, by jointly living the life of the Lamb, and by
the word of their testimony.
25. Then, as the same Spirit and Word of life, that brought
forth the first mail in the new creation, brought forth also the
first woman in the same divine nature ; so the enmity of the
dragon was equally stirred up against the woman, as it had been
against the man. Therefore, to the woman were given two Rev. xii.
wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, 14-
into her place. This applies particularly to the woman we have
412
REVELATIONS RELATING TO MOTHER. B. VIII.
CHAP. IX.
* Heb. dis-
tress, see
Marg inal
Bible.
Isa. liii. 7,
8.
Rev. xii. 6,
14. & x.\ i.
9.
Rev.
1-8.
Psal. xlv.
5. & 14.
Rev. xii.
17.
described as the Mother of the new creation; and in her it was
fulfilled in the most clear and positive manner.
2G. When she was brought forth into the new creation, for
salvation and strength, the same persecuting spirit by which
Jesus was put to death, raged likewise against her — by distress,
false judgment, and repeated imprisonments; but by the protec-
tion of God, she was delivered from the hands of her enemies.
He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and was taken away
by distress * and false judgment. So in him, that prophecy was
spiritually and literally fulfilled; and in her, it was also fulfilled
both spiritually and literally.
27. From the prison of the wicked, and from the judgment of
antichrist she was taken ; and on the wings of liberty and indepen-
dence, she flew into the wilderness of America, where God intended
to establish the foundation of this spiritual building, which he had
promised to accomplish in the latter days; and there, in her
appointed place, (in a remote part of Niskeuna,) she was nourished
for a time, times, and half a time, or three years and a half,
until the opening of the testimony of '■'■the everlasting gospel "
in America, in the year 1780.
28. Let it be observed here, that the woman clothed with the
sun, who fled into the spiritual wilderness for the space of twelve
hundred and sixty days, or years, and the woman who flew into
the literal wilderness for a time, times, and half a time, are
distinctly two; and the periods of time also, are two distinct
periods — the latter period commencing after the former closed.
29. It was at the close of the latter period, that the woman
last mentioned, was called forth out of her excluded retreat from
the world, and openly arrayed in her true spiritual apparel,
fine linen, clean and v;hite ; which is the righteousness or [Stxaiui-
f/.a<ra] the righteous acts of the saints.
30. And then was heard, in truth and reality, a great voice of
much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia! Salvation, and glory,
and honor, and poiver, unto the Lord our God — For the marri-
age of the Lamb is come, and the Bride, his ivife, hath made
herself ready.
31. Marriage is for the purpose of multiplying seed, and rais-
ing up a family; therefore, as she was now a queen, and the
mother of the king's children, it was said, She shall be brought
unto the king, in glorious apparel, in clothing of wrought gold,
in raiment of needle ivork. And after being brought, with the
virgins her companions, in robes of needle work, the angry
dragon soon commenced a war of malicious words with the
remnant of her seed or children, who keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
32. They that are joined to the Lord are one spirit; for tivo,
saith he, shall be one. And the two who become one spirit in
B. VIII. REVELATIONS RELATING TO MOTHER. 413
the Lord, are man and woman, redeemed and purified from the chap. ix.
power and influence of the fall, and these two agree in one, and
that in which they agree, is the one word of their testimony.
33. Hence there are three that bear witness on earth, namely,
the first Father and Mother of redemption, and the one word of
their testimony, which liveth and abideth forever; and these
three are one, and bear a perfect correspondence to the three
that bear record in heaven, namely, the Father, and Wisdom, l John, v.
and the Holy Spirit of divine power and influence, which is the 7"
word of life proceeding from the two, and by which all things
were created that are created.
34. Nothing in nature can be begotten without a begetter, and
nothing can be conceived without a conceiver, and nothing can
be either begotten or conceived, without a corresponding influence
between two ; and hence there are three that bear witness in i John. v.
earth, the spirit, the water, and the blood,: and these three 8l
agree in one. And by these three, all things are begotten, con-
ceived and brought forth into existence, in regard to time : this
is a true type of the work of regeneration.
35. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater. If there be a correspondent relation of one thing with
another, in regard to the things of time, much more so in regard
to the things of eternity ; and if the primitive order and perfection
of the natural and visible creation of man was glorious, the order
and relation of the spiritual and invisible is much more perfect
and glorious.
36. Then as the three that bear record on earth, bear a cor-
respondence to the three that bear record in heaven ; so each
derive their attributes from that mutual correspondence. The
first spiritual Father of man's redemption, is the image and
likeness of Him that was from everlasting. The first spiritual
Mother is the imaaje and likeness of Her that was with Him from Pr°V' via.
23.
everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth ivas.
37. And the spirit of life, in the one joint testimony or word
of the eternal Father and Mother, by which their spiritual
children are begotten, conceived, and brought forth in the new
creation, and by which all- things are created anew in Christ
Jesus, is the revealed glory and correspondent power and wisdom prov. i. l,
of that Word which proceeded and came forth from God, which l'c0T. i 24
was in the beginning with God, and which was God, and by
which all things were made that were made, and without which John, i. 3.
was not any thing made thai vjas made.
38. Therefore, according to the unchangeable purpose of God,
which he purposed in himself before the foundation of the world ,
he hath brought forth the foundation pillars of the new creation ;
the correspondent agents and declarative glory of the Eternal
Parentage ; who have finished and completed the foundation of
414 EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING B. VIII.
chap, x. Grod's spiritual building in heaven and on earth; and which
spiritual building, is founded in the Divine Nature by the
most infallible evidences.
39. And therefore, until the whole order of heaven be^sup-
planted and overthrown, the foundation of the church can never
be moved, nor the pillars thereof shaken ; but according to that
promise, Yet once more, the work and building of God will go
on to the final removing of those things that are shaken, as of
Heb. xii. things that are made, thai those things which cannot be shaken
27* may remain.
30
CHAPTER X.
EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING THE SECOND APPEARING OP
CHRIST.
The work of G-od, in relation to the redemption of man, being
beyond human comprehension, has been always mistaken by the
most wise and penetrating, in their natural state; and therefore,
it is not surprising, that such should wholly mistake the nature
of that evidence, by which it is confirmed to those who are actually
in it.
2. In this, however, as well as in every thing else, vain man
has assumed the authority of prescribing to God ; and, without
regarding the presumptuous mistakes of former generations, every
one is ready to lay out, in his own imaginations, what evidence is
necessary to accompany a living testimony, in order to give it
divine credit and authority. But the truth never was acceptable
to sinful man, nor can any evidence, even of his own choosing,
bind him to believe and obey it.
3. The greatest external wonders that ever G-od wrought in
confirmation of his word, were followed by the greatest and most
aggravated unbelief, and hardness of heart ; as is evident from
the history of Noah's posterity after the flood, and the Israelites
in the wilderness.
4. The greatest objection against the testimony of Christ, in
John, vi. his first appearance was, want of evidence. What sign shewest
thou that we may believe? They pretended that they would
believe upon the evidence of such mighty works as their fathers
had seen in the wilderness ; but their hatred of the truth, and
their fondness to find objections against it, proved that they had
B. VIII. THE SECOND APPEARING OP CHRIST. 415
the same spirit as their fathers, who for forty years, provoked chap, x.
God in the wilderness, with their objections and cavils.
5. Hence the Spirit of truth, that was then grieved, and pro-
voked, by a generation of proud Pharisees, and deceitful hypo-
crites, predicted by the mouth of Saint Paul, tlisft when Christ
should make his second appearance, to reveal the man of sin,
even him, whose coming is in them that perish, after, or [Gr. 2 Thes. ii.
xa-ra] according to the working of Sata?i, with all power, and '
signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivablencss of un-
righteousness; because they received not the love of the truth,
that then might be saved. This man of sin the Lord would con-
sume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the bright-
ness of his coming.
6. And for this cause God should send (or suffer them to
choose,) strong delusion, to believe a lie, that they might be
damned, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in un-
righteousness. Nothing but a principle of love to truth, and
obedience flowing from that principle, ever saved any soul ; nor
were any of those visible miracles and wonders, which are left on
record, wrought for the immediate purpose of saving the soul.
7. Yet, in condescension to mankind, in their imprisoned state
of darkness and sensuality, God has, in every dispensation of his
grace, addressed their external senses with evidences of his
Divine power,' for the purpose of strengthening the faith of the
weak believer, in that which was saving, and to stop the mouths
of gainsayers.
8. And however grossly the present testimony, and work of
Christ, has been misrepresented, and stigmatized, as an unfounded,
and incredible invention of the worst of human characters, it has
by no means been lacking in such kind of evidence, as sufficiently
demonstrated its intimate and close relation to the work that was
manifested in the primitive Church, even to the external senses
of natural men.
9. The spirit is unchangeably one and the same at all times ;
but the manifestation of the spirit may be various, by means of
supernatural and extraordinary gifts. Many extraordinary gifts
were in the primitive church : such as gifts of healing ; working
of miracles; prophecy; discerning of spirits; divers kinds of
tongues ; the interpretation of tongues, &e. ; yet all these were
not for salvation, but for the outward manifestation of that in-
ward spirit, by which salvation is wrought.
10. Such evidences have existed in the Church of Christ from
the first opening of the Gospel to the present day ; as such out-
ward gifts have been abundantly ministered through our Mother,
and the first witnesses, and from them to others, and frequently
used on various occasions. Mat.vii.22.
11. It is true, wicked men have often had extraordinary gifts,
416 EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING B. VIII.
chap x. •which have given occasion to their pride and vanity, from which
offences have arisen against the true exercise of a Divine Power ;
and therefore such things are not to be the most earnestly
coveted ; nor is the real internal saving work of the spirit thereby
certainly evidenced. The Spirit is known by its fruit, and the
fruits of the Spirit, which are invariably the same in all, are very
different from those extraordinary gifts which are severally
divided, and may exist even where the real fruits of the Spirit are
not to be found.
12. However, as these gifts originally flow from the Spirit, and
belong to the Church, they are of importance in their proper
place, and have been abundantly used in the first opening of the
Gospel in America. Therefore, it may not be improper to notice
here, a few instances of that miraculous power, by which the
most stubborn unbelievers were confounded, and the faith of
others strengthened, who continue to be living witnesses of the
truth, to the present day.
13. It has been remarked that Pharoah's wise men and sor-
cerers could mimic the miracles of Moses, in such things as were
productive of evil ; but those evils they could not remove, which
showed that the evil spirit had neither power nor disposition to
do sood. Hence such miracles as were of benefit to mankind,
have been most generally considered as a distinguishing confirma-
tion of the spirit of goodness and truth ; and upon this principle,
the gift of healing has been the most universally ascribed to the
Spirit of Christ.
14. Therefore, although a multitude of facts of a like extra-
ordinary appearance, might have been collected from the living
witnesses of the present work of Grod ; yet, to the candid and
honest friend of truth, the following particulars may be sufficient
to show that the same Spirit, which wrought by Christ Jesus and
his Apostles, was made manifest for the confirmation of the truth
in this latter day.*
15. Noah Wheaten, of New-Lebanon, in the State of New-
York, aged sixty-four years, testifies : That shortly after he had
received the faith in the testimony of Christ's second appearing,
in the year 1780, near the beginning of July, (according to the
best of his remembrance,) being employed in clearing land, about
forty or fifty rods from his own house, and being thirsty, he left
* The manner in which we have stated these miraculous gifts, is not such as would
have been the most agreeable to our own feelings, were our testimony to be con-
fined to our friends and those who are personally acquainted with our people.
Among ourselves, a plain and simple statement of the truth is sufficient, without
the formal ceremony of an affidavit, to enforce it. But the world of mankind have
become so faithless towards each other, that they cannot believe, nor be believed,
without something like legal attestation ; therefore, in conformity to general
practice, we have stated these evidences, after the manner of depositions, signed
and witnessed ; and we are willing that any who are desirous of further informa-
tion, should make personal enquiry.
B. VIII. THE SECOND APPEARING OP CHRIST. 417
his work to go to a spring on the opposite side of a fence, near chap, x.
by, to get some drink. That having mounted the fence, which
was very high, in jumping off, by a mis-step, dislocated his ancle
outwardly, and split or broke the outer bone of his leg, just
above the ancle joint.
16. That after groaning and wallowing in this situation a
while, he crawled to the spring, and back to the place where he
had been at work. That although he was unable to go on with
his work, he was yet unwilling to return to his house, or to make
his case known, on account of the enmity of his unbelieving
neighbors, to whom he had often testified his faith, as he had
nothing to expect from them but derision.
17. That his ancle began to swell, and the pain increased, yet
there he continued, tumbling and rolling about, for the space of
two or three hours, in great distress of mind as well as pain of
body. That at length he crawled home on his hands and knees,
and although under extreme mortification of spirit for this mis-
fortune, yet he was full of faith and confidence in the gift of
miracles, which he had before strongly testified to his unbelieving
neighbors.
18. That he felt the trial of his faith now come, and was,
therefore, resolved not to mar his testimony by flinching from it,
in the hour of trial ; but feeling full confidence in the gift of God,
he refused to have a doctor called, or any attempt made to set
the bone, or even any outward application, for the mitigation of
his pain. That, consequently, his ancle and leg swelled greatly,
turned black, and was excessively painful.
19. That, while in this situation, numbers of his unbelieving
neighbors came to see him, and also several of the believers;
but still confident in the faith of a miraculous cure, and desiring
to confirm his testimony to his neighbors, he would not submit
to the ordinary means of relief.* That thus he continued, from
about two o'clock in the afternoon till the evening of the follow-
ing day; during which time, his mind was in agonizing labor to
God for a miraculous cure; which, with his extreme pain, forced
the sweat in plentiful effusions, from every pore of his body.
20. At length, as his family, consisting of ten in number, were
assembled at their evening worship, in the room where he was
then sitting upon a chest, the power of God came suddenly upon
* To some who are strangers to Noah Wheaten, his perseverance in refusing the
ordinary means of relief, may seem incredible; while others may be ready to im-
pute it to enthusiastic madness ; it may therefore be proper to remark here, that,
as a man in nature, he was well known to be a person of singular courage, and in-
vincible fortitude. He was formerly a seafaring man, and employed as a captain
of a vessel, mostly in the whale fishery; and having passed through many trying
scenes, he often had his courage and fortitude put to the severest test. And as his
enterprising zeal was not easily frustrated, in wordly adventures ; so in his faith,
he could not be readily brought to yield his testimony to the enemies of the cross
of Christ.
418 EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING B. VIII.
chap, x. hij^ an(j ne was instantly hurled from his seat, and set upon his
feet, and whirled swiftly round, like a top, for the space of two
hours, without the least pain or inconvenience. That he then
retired to rest, well and comfortable, and the next morning, arose
in health, took his team and went to plowing.
21. The said Noah Wheat en further testifies, as a remarkable
fact, that his unbelieving neighbors, who were knowing to this
dislocation of his ancle, hearing of his miraculous cure, came to
his house and desired to see his ancle. That, accordingly, he
uncovered it before them; at this instant, a sharp pain, like the
piercing of a dagger, passed through his ancle, and that this was
repeated as often as he showed it, for several days afterwards.
That otherwise he has suffered no inconvenience from it, from
that time to this ; but that ancle has remained as sound as the
other.
22. That happening afterwards to mention this circumstance
to Mother, she said, It was their unbelief which pierced his
ancle, and that he had no business to show it to them.
Taken from the mouth of the said Noah Wheat en, the 21st of
April, 1808. . In presence of Richard Spier, Stephen Munson,
Daniel Goodrich, and Seth Y. Wells.
Signed, NOAH WHEATEN.
23. Sarah Kibbee, of New-Lebanon, testifies : That when a
child, she was very weakly; that her weakness finally settled
in her left foot. That, beside other medical attendance, she was
under the care of Doctor Millard, during one whole summer, and
found no relief. That her foot and leg withered, and seemed to
perish. That the cords of her ham were so contracted, that she
was unable to straighten her leg, or set her foot to the floor.
That for the space of a year and a half, she used crutches
altogether. That sometime about the middle of March, 1781,
being then in the 16th year of her age, she went with Noah
Wheaten from Hancock, where she then lived, to Niskeuna,
(now Watervliet) where Mother and the elders resided.
24. That here she was left, though much against her will.
That being a cripple, and young and bashful, she was treated
with great kindness and gentleness. That she had no faith in the
testimony of the people, nor any convictions of sin, although her
parents had believed before. That labors were made with her,
• and after a few days she received faith, and confessed her sins.
That the next day, being the first day of the week, as she was
sitting in a chair, Elder William Lee came into the room, took
hold of her foot, and stroked it with his hands, saying, According
to thy faith, so be it unto thee. That, soon after, Mother came
into the room, and bade her, put away her wooden staves, and
lean upon Christ.
B. VIII. THE SECOND APPEARING OP CHRIST. 419
25. That she immediately received strength, laid away her CHAP- x
crutches, and has never used any since, but was restored to per-
fect soundness, so that her foot and leg, which before was, at least,
one quarter less than the other, was, in every respect, restored
equal with the other. That she went forth in the worship of God,
afterwards to work, and has never felt the least symptom of her
old infirmity from that day to this.
Taken from the mouth of the said Sarah Kibbee, April 21,
1808. In the presence of Hannah Chauncey, Amos Stower, D.
Goodrich, and S. Y. Wells.
Signed. SARAH KIBBEE.
26. Hannah Cogswell, of New-Lebanon, testifies : that the
above mentioned Sarah Kibbee's miraculous cure was wrought
in her presence. Noah Wheaten also states, as a remarkable
instance of obstinate unbelief and determined opposition in the
world of mankind against the truth, that having often labored
with two men, his neighbors, (by name, Gideon and Simeon
Martin,) to convict them of the truth of the testimony which he
had received. And that they, knowing that the people professed
faith in the gift of miracles, had said that, if the Shakers would
cure Sarah Kibbee, they would believe in them.
27. That, accordingly, after her miraculous cure, these men
having seen her, he reminded them of their promise, as they must
now be convinced that Sarah Kibbee was restored. That they
replied, that if they should see the Shakers cut a man in two,
and put him together again, and heal him, they would not believe.
28. Phebe Spencer, of Neio-Lebanon, aged seventy-three,
years, testifies : That in the year 17 SI, in the month of November,
(according to the best of her remembrance,) having been in the
faith about two months, and living then in Stephenlown, she
went in company with her husband Jabesh Spencer, (since
deceased) to see a young woman, about fifteen miles distant, and
that on their return home, (being the first day of the week) in
crossing a bridge, within about twenty rods of their own house,
a part of the bridge gave way, her horse fell through, and she
falling backwards, came with her right side upon one of the
string-pieces of the bridge, was taken up senseless, and carried
into the house by Jabesh and others, who assembled at the place.
29. That, soon after, she came to herself, and perceived that
her ribs were broken in such a manner that she was unable to
speak, or breathe without screeching. That she could sensibly
feel and hear the broken ends of her ribs grate against each
other, at every breath she drew. That her neighbors, who had
assembled on the occasion, urged her to send for a doctor to let
blood, or to do something for her; but although she was in
extreme pain and distress, she could not feel freedom of mind to
do it.
420 EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING B. VIII.
chap, x. 30. That Jabesh was also urged to get a doctor; which, on
account of her feelings, he also declined. That this unwilling-
ness in her, was considered by her neighbors as obsftnate wilful-
ness, and they said that, because she was a Shaker, she had set
herself against receiving help from doctors, and earnestly pressed
her to send for one ; but she still refused, and thus continued,
without any mitigation of distress, till the Tuesday following,
when Jabesh came into the room, and reminded her of the
Ja«. v. 14. Apostle James' advice, Is any sick among you, let him call for
the elders of the Church, Src. ; he proposed to send for Hezekiah
Hammond, and others of the Believers. That she immediately
consented. Accordingly, Hezekiah Havimond and Joel Pratt
were sent for, and came about sunset.
31. That they entered the room, where she sat bolstered up
in her bed ; that Hezekiah came and took hold of her hand, and
bade her labor for the power of God, and take faith. That she
was immediately seized with a shaking, like one in a strong fit
of the ague, which so far released her, that she was able to speak
and breathe without difficulty ; but that her pain still continued,
and she was yet unable to move or help herself; that she, how-
ever, rested some that night. That the next morning, after
breakfast, Hezekiah came again in the room and assembled all
the family, that were then at home, consisting of her husband,
two sons, and seven daughters, and desired them all to kneel
down with him.
32. That they accordingly kneeled, which was very contrary
to the feelings of her children, as they were all in opposition to the
faith. That after continuing on their knees a few minutes, they
arose, and Hezekiah came to the bed side, took her by the hand,
and desired her to get up. That, with some difficulty, she got
up and sat in a chair. That they again kneeled in a circle round
her, after which Hezekiah bade her stand up ; which she accord-
ingly did. That he then put one hand upon her head, and the
other upon her side, at which she felt such a glow of the power
of God, as she was unable to describe, which first struck her
head, and then ran down her right side ; instantly she felt her
ribs sensibly press outward against his hand, and her side was
immediately healed.
33. That he then led her several times across the floor; but
having taken no nourishment since her fall, she was weak. That
he bade her sit down and take food, which she did. That after-
wards he bade her walk herself, and she walked, and felt well and
comfortable. That after some salutary advice he left her. That,
at evening, a number of the believers came to the house, and she
assembled with them, and went forth in the worship of God with
greater power than she had ever done before.
34. That she has continued from that day to this, without the
B. VIII. THE SECOND APPEARING OF CHRIST. 421
least symptom of pain or inconvenience, arising from her fall ; chap, x.
and that this miraculous gift of God struck conviction all around,
and was a means of bringing her whole family, and many others
into the faith.
Taken from the mouth of the said Phebe Spencer, April 22,
1808. In presence of Sarah Slosson, Amos Stower, D. Good-
rich, and Seth Y. Wells.
Signed, PHEBE SPENCER.
N. B. Mary and Salome Spencer, daughters of the said Phebe
Spencer, testify to the truth of the above account ; and that it was
the means of bringing them into the faith, and also many others.
35. Richard Treat, of New-Lebanon, testifies: That in the
year 1781, sometime in July, (according to the best of his re-
membrance,) his son Truman, then about fifteen months old,
having been, for about ten days, violently sick, appeared to be
perfectly senseless and near dying. That being distressed in
his mind for the child, he went over the mountain to Hancock,
to see Elder John Hocknell, and requested of him that he would
home and lay his hand upon the child ; for he had faith that he
could heal the child.
36. That Elder Hocknell, having labored in his mind a few
minutes, was seized with the power of God in outward operations,
came up to him, and struck him on the hand several times, then
bade him go home, nothing doubting, and, lay his hand upon
the child, and he should see the glory of God. That this threw
him into great tribulation, fearing lest his faith should fail him,
and he should not be able to heal the child. That he returned
home, praying every step of the way, that God would strengthen
his faith.
37. That he came into the house, and walking the floor in
great tribulation, was suddenly seized with the power of God, in
the same manner that Elder Hocknell had been; and going to
the child, who then lay in his mother's lap, he first laid his hand
upon the child, then took him from his mother, placed him upon
his arm, and holding him with his other hand, carried him several
times around the room. That the child immediately came to his
senses, laughed, and appeared bright and lively. That he then
returned him to his mother, lively and well ; and that he con-
tinued so, without any return of his disorder.
Taken from the mouth of the said Richard Treat, April 22,
1808. In the presence of John Farrington, Daniel Goodrich,
and Seth Y. Wells.
Signed, RICHARD TREAT.
N. B. Sarah Treat, the mother of the child, gives the same
account of this miraculous cure, which was wrought in her pre-
sence, and in the presence of several of the family.
422 EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING B. VIII.
chap. x. 3§# John Farrington, of New-Lebanon, testifies: That at
the age of four or five years, being at school, about two miles
from home, he had. his left ancle put out of joint, and was carried
home in great pain and distress. That two or three days after-
wards, he was carried to Dr. Thompson 's in Somers, State of
Connecticut. That the doctor being absent, his wife (who also
professed some skill in bone-setting,) undertook to set the ancle ;
but it being greatly swelled, was not effectually done, which
occasioned a continual weakness afterwards, and was, at times,
very painful.
39. That at the age of twenty, (being the year 1780,) he
heard and embraced the testimony of the Gospel ; but was still
subject to lameness, and often to that degree, that his whole leg
would swell up to his knee, and be very painful. That having,
for some years, expected it to terminate in a fever sore, he
applied to Calvin Harloiv, who was then a physician among the
Believers ; and that outward applications were made, from time
to time, but to no effect.
40. That in the month of December, 1789, his lameness
having greatly increased, he was in much tribulation about it.
That both himself and the doctor had great apprehensions that he
would remain a cripple during life. That his leg was greatly
swelled, attended with a high fever, so that he was confined to
his room for several days.
41. That as he was sitting one evening, with his leg across his
knee, his hand clasping his ancle, which was then in extreme
pain, (William Safford being present,) Eleazar Rand came
suddenly into the room, and without speaking, placed a chair
near him. Perceiving that Eleazar had a gift of Glod for him,
he immediately removed his leg from his knee into the chair, and
Eleazar, at the same time, taking another chair, sat down by
him, placed his leg upon his (i.e. John's) leg, and sat in that
position three or four minutes, then rose up and left the room ;
but soon returned, sat down and placed his leg in the same man-
ner the second time.
42. That this was done seven times, without a word spoken by
either of them. That the pain ceased, the swelling abated, and
his leg was immediately restored whole and sound as the other,
and has continued so from that day to this.
43. William Safford, of New-Lebanon, being present,
testifies to the truth of this miraculous cure. The said John
Farrington and William Safford also testify, That they were
afterwards informed that Elder Henry Cluff, Job Bishop and
Eleazar Rand, were, at the time mentioned, sitting in silence in
a room in the upper part of the meeting house, near by : that Job
Bishop suddenly rose out of his seat, and bade Eleazar Rand, go
and lay his leg on John's leg, without saying, what John, or where.
B. VIII. THE SECOND APPEARING OF CHRIST. 423
44. That Eleazar instantly obeyed, and was led, by the power CHAp- x-
of G-od, to the house, and into an upper room, where the said
John Farrington was then sitting, as before mentioned; and
that, returning to the meeting house, he was met by Job Bishop
at the head of the stairs, who bade him go again till seven
times, which he accordingly did.*
Taken from the mouths of the said John Farrington and
William Safford, April 22, 1808. . In presence of Daniel Good-
rich and Seth Y. Wells.
Signed, JOHN FARRINGTON,
WILLIAM SAFFORD.
45. Jennet Davis, of Hancock, testifies : That in the month
of May, 1783, (being then in the twenty-first year of her age,)
she had a tooth extracted from her lower jar, on the right side ;
and it being the furthermost tooth, the jaw was much injured by
the operation, and was very sore, which afterwards terminated
in an issue which occasioned a very offensive breath.
46. That some time in August following, she took cold in her
jaw, which occasioned it to swell very much, and was attended
with a high fever and great pain. That outward applications
were made for her relief, but without effect : That the swelling
still increased, till her face, and neck, on that side, was swelled
nearly even with her shoulder, her head turned over her opposite
shoulder, and her jaws set, in such a manner, that for the space
of six days, she could take no nourishment, except what she
sucked through her teeth.
47. That one afternoon, about the beginning of September,
Elder John Hocknell came to the house where she then lived,
[in Richmond near Hancock, Berkshire county, Massachusetts,^
and tarried till evening, when the people assembled to the num-
ber of forty, and went forth in the worship of Grod with great
power: That she attempted to unite, but was scarcely able to
move, when Elder Hocknell came up to her, put his hand upon
her face, and bade her labor for the healing poiver of God; that
her face immediately felt warm, and the pain left her, so that she
went forth and labored in the worship of God with great power.
48. That after meeting, she retired to rest, and slept comfort-
ably, which she had not done for many nights before. That the
next morning she awoke, well and comfortably — the swelling was
entirely gone, and she arose in perfect health ; and that she has
had no return of the disorder from that time to this.
Taken from the mouth of the said Jennet Davis, April 23d,
* Since the first edition of this work was published, the testimony of Job Bishop,
of Canterbury, in New-Hampshire, has been given in confirmation of these
particular circumstances.
*
424 EVIDENCES ACCOMPANYING B. VIII.
chap, x. 1808. In the presence of Mary Southvick, Daniel Cogsioell,
Daniel Goodrich, and Seth Y. Wells, 11. Clark, J. Demming,
J. Southwick.
Signed, JENNET DAVIS.
49. Mart Southwick, of Hancock, testifies: That about the
beginning of August, 1783, (being then in the twenty-first year
of her age,) she was healed of a cancer in her mouth, which had
been growing two years, and which, for about three weeks, had
been eating, attended with great pain and a continual running,
and which occasioned great weakness and loss of appetite.
50. That she went, one afternoon to see Calvin Harlow, to
get some assistance; that Mother being at the house, Calvin
asked her to look at it. That she accordingly came to her, and
put her finger into her mouth upon the cancer ; at which instant
the pain left her, and she was restored to health, and was never
afflicted with it afterwards.
Taken from the mouth of the said Mary Soitthiuick, the 23d
day of April, 1808. In presence of Jennet Davis, Rebecca
Clark, Daniel Cogswell, Daniel Goodrich and Selh Y. Wells.
Signed, MARY SOUTHWICK.
51. Jerusha Bigelow, of Hancock, in the month of Octo-
ber, 1785, was taken suddenly sick with the canker-rash, which
increased to such a degree that her life was despaired of. She
was senseless for some time ; had a very high fever ; her tongue
swelled and cracked open. One Friday evening, the family ex-
pecting that she would die before morning, had made preparations
to lay her out.
52. On Saturday morning, her father went for Anna Good-
rich, who lived about a mile distant, having faith to believe that
Anna could cure his daughter. Anna came, and after kneeling
by the bed side, and praying to God for a gift of healing, which
receiving, she laid her hand upon Jerusha, (who appeared to be
near dying,) and her fever left her, and she felt herself im-
mediately well, rose from her bed, and walked into another room,
and in a short time recovered her strength.
So testifies,
JERUSHA BIGELOW,
. ELCE BIGELOW,
ANNA GOODRICH.
In presence of Daniel Goodrich, Seth Y. Wells, and a num-
ber of other witnesses. April 23, 1808.
53. Enoch Pease, (now living at Enfield, in Connecticut^)
when about two years old, was taken very sick, and senseless,
and like to die. Joseph Markham went to see the child, felt a
gift to kneel down, with several of the family, by the side of th
B. VIII. THE SECOND APPEARING OP CHRIST. 425
cradle where the child lay; and laying his hands upon the child, chap. x.
he was immediately restored to health, and soon after went to
play with the rest of the children.
So testifies
■JEMIMA PEASE, and
JOSEPH MAKKHAM.
In presence of D. Goodrich, S. Y. Wells, and others.
Hancock, April 23d, 1808.
54. Susannah Cook, of Hancock, testifies: That in the
spring of the year 1783, (according to the best of her remem-
brance,) she was healed of an issue or fever sore, under which
she had suffered very much for the space of seven years, and
could find no relief from doctors, though much labor and pains
were taken for her recovery.
55. That having faith to be healed by a gift of God, she went
six miles, to Luther CogsiveWs, where a number of the brethren
and sisters were assembled. That her feelings led her to apply
for a healing gift to Anna Northrup, who was then laboring under
great power of God. That she received a healing gift from
Anna's hand, which instantly restored her.
56. That previous to her receiving this gift, she was not able
to walk one- mile without great difficulty, and greatly increasing
her disorder ; but that she was never troubled with her old com-
plaint afterwards. That soon after, she traveled about forty
miles on foot, [to Watervliet,] and could travel any distance on
foot without any inconvenience.
Taken from the mouth of the said Susannah Cook, the 23d
day of April, 1808. In presence of Daniel Goodrich, Seth Y.
Wells, and others.
Signed, SUSANNAH COOK.
57. Mart Turner, of New-Lebanon, testifies: That her son
Jonathan, (since deceased,) being about nine or ten years of age,
was chopping wood, at some distance from home, and by a stroke
of the ax, received a very bad wound on the top of his foot : [his
father, Gideon Turner, testifies that he could lay his finger, at
length, in the wound.] That he was brought home, and she see-
ing it bleed excessively, was greatly troubled, not knowing what
to do for it.
58. That she went into another room, kneeled down and cried
to God, and soon felt the power of God run down her arm, and
into her right hand — instantly her hand seemed to be filled with
the power of God, accompanied with such a delicious balsamic
smell, as she was unable to describe. That feeling confident
that it was a gift of healing for her son, she returned directly
into the room and put her hand on the wound, and it instantly
28
426 REMARKS ON THE EVIDENCE OF B. VIII.
chap.xt. ceaseci bleeding. She then walked the floor; came again and
laid on her hand a second time; this she repeated seven times,
gently sticking the wound, during which time, it closed up and
was healed, leaving only a small seam.
59. That she then bound- it up. This being Saturday after-
noon, the next morning she unbound it, and found no other
appearance of the wound than a small white seam, resembling a
white thread ; after which he attended meeting, went forth in the
worship of Grod, was fully restored, and found no inconvenience
from the wound afterwards.
60. Gideon further testifies, that while Mary (the child's
mother) was stroking the wound, he saw the flesh gradually
gather and close up, leaving only a small red streak, about the
size of a knitting needle ; and that he was restored as above
described.
Taken from the mouths of the said Mary and Gideon, April
25th, 1808. In the presence of Daniel Goodrich, Seth Y. Wells
and others.
Signed, MAKY TURNER,
GIDEON TURNER.
CHAPTER XL
REMARKS ON THE EVIDENCE OP CHRIST'S SECOND
APPEARING.
There were many instances of miraculous cures of diseases, of
almost every kind, which never were published abroad, being
known at the time, only among the people themselves. The in-
stances inserted in the foiv going chapter, are but few out of
many, which were of such a nature as could not be hid ; most of
them were circumstantially known to the world, and of which
there are many living witnesses to this day.
2. Yet such was the bitter opposition of the generality to the
way of Grod, that many either impiously denied, and contradicted
abroad, what they knew to be facts, or maliciously slandered
what they could neither contradict nor deny.
3. This, however, was but little regarded by the Believers,
as such extaordinary and occasional gifts made no essential part
B. VIII.
Christ's second appearing.
427
of the foundation of their faith; and knowing, also, that such chap.xi.
kind of evidence would decrease and be withdrawn from the
world, in proportion as the true spiritual substance of the Gospel
increased.
4. It was not that miraculous power which operates upon the
body, but that which purifies and saves the soul from the nature
of sin, that the truly wise and discerning believer esteemed the
most; yet for every operation of the power of God, they were
thankful, and nothing which they received was in vain.
5. And doubtless the end was answered for which those
miraculous gifts were given, inasmuch as they confirmed the faith
of the weak, removed the prejudices of many who were doubtful,
and took away every just ground of objection from the enemies
of the cross of Christ.
6. Yet some might pretend to object, that the miracles wrought
by Mother, and by the first elders and others, through her min-
istration, were neither so numerous nor so great as those that
were wrought by Jesus and his Apostles. But who is to be the
judge of the nature, number, or greatness of those miracles ?
7. If natural men are to judge according to their outward
senses, the objection will also apply to Christ's first appearing;
and upon the same rule of judging, it will apply equally to every
manifestation of the power of God since the flood of Noah!
8. For in every dispensation, since that period, those visible
miraculous operations, which have attended the testimony of God,
have continually decreased in the esteem of natural men, and
become less and less wonderful and affecting to their outward
senses; insomuch that many of their wise men, while they admit
the facts, deny any supernatural divine agency in the case ; but
account for the most extraordinary appearances, as springing
from certain causes in nature, before unknown.
9. To whatever cause natural men are pleased to ascribe the
miraculous operations of the power of God, it is certain, they
have always thought they had good reason to object to the pre-
sent, from its inferiority to the past. It is granted, according to
their sense, that John the Baptist, who was the greatest of all John, x4i,
the Prophets did no miracle. That in some places, Jesus him-
self did not many mighty works, because of their unbelief; and
that in his own country, and among his own kin, he could do no
mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk,
and healed them.
10. That his baptism at Jordan, was not so wonderful as
Joshua's dividing Jordan, and leading through the thousands
of Israel dry shod ; nor the darkness at his crucifixion so aston-
ishing as Joshua's stopping the sun and moon in their progress.
11. That his walking upon the sea was not so astonishing, and
universally convicting to the outward senses, as the dividing of
Mat. xiii.
58.
Mark, vi.
4,5.
428
REMARKS ON THE EVIDENCE OF
B. VIII.
CHAP. XI.
Mat. xxiii.
30.
Acts, vii.
61.
Luke, vii.
30.
the sea by Moses, in the view of six hundred thousand Israelites,
and all the Egyptian host; neither was his feeding five thousand,
with a few loaves and fishes, to be compared with the feeding the
whole nation of Israel, forty years, with bread from heaven.
12. In a word, the adversaries of Jesus could see nothing, in
all his life and ministry, so evidential of the power of God as
what was recorded of their forefathers. And how were their
forefathers affected with what they beheld ? Had they not the
same ground of objection ? and did they not soon forget every
wonder that they had seen, and provoke God with their unbelief?
13. It must be granted to these unbelievers too, that the
testimony of Moses was not attended with so convincing evidence
as the preaching of Lot : That drowning some of the inhabitants
of Egypt with water, was not so great a miracle as the destruc-
tion of the Sodomites and their cities, with a total overthrow by
fire from heaven ; and that all those other miracles, which were
soon withdrawn, and had no greater visible monument left than
a pillar of stones, were far inferior, in point of standing evidence,
to Lot's wife, turned into a pillar of salt.
14. But how were Lot's posterity affected by all these wonders?
Did the incestuous Moabites and Ammonites cease to do wickedly?
By no means. Doubtless they had as good reason for rejecting
their father's testimony, for want of evidence, as any other set of
unbelievers : and, upon equal principles, it must be granted them,
that a small eruption of fire, either from the earth, or clouds,
was more easily accounted for, and less astonishing, than a flood
of waters over the whole earth, fifteen cubits above the highest
mountain ; and that the destruction of a few Sodomites was not
to be compared with the total overthrow of the whole antedelu-
vian world.
15. So that the only miracle that can silence the cavils or stop
the objections of the unbeliever, is that which envelops him, and
all his kind, in destruction. It was, and still is the language of
the wicked, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would
not have been partakers with them.
16. But could unbelievers of the present day have been in all
the dispensations that are past, they would have taken part with
the antediluvian world against Noah ; with the Sodomites against
Lot; with the rebellious Israelites against Moses; with the
Scribes and Pharisees, against Jesus and his followers ; and with
the persecuting kingdom of antichrist, against the heretics, from
the same selfish motives, with which they DO always resist the
operations of the Holy Spirit, and reject the counsel of God
against themselves, revealed in the present testimony of Christ,
against the world, the flesh, and all evil.*
• The spirit of unbelief is the same in all ages ; it never was willing to acknow-
ledge the present work of God in any age ; and the power of that spirit is strength-
B. VIII. Christ's second appearing. 429
17. The believer and the unbeliever stand directly in contrast, chap. xr.
let the dispensation of God, or the outward evidence attending it,
be small or great ; and it is a noted truth, that the more spiritual
and powerful the day and work of God is, for the destruction of
sin, and the brighter and more glorious the evidence to the
believer, the darker and more doubtful it appears to the wicked,
because it is the more pointedly against them.
18. The unbeliever may be driven by fear, but the believer is
drawn by love ; and hence such a striking distinction between the
operations of God under the Gospel, and those under the dark
dispensations that preceded it. A man can receive nothing, ex- John, iii.
cept it be given him from heaven, was a true saying of J ohn ; 27, v- 30*
and J can of mine own self do nothing, was as true a saying of
Jesus.
19. Then as Jesus did not come into the world of himself, and
it was not given him to destroy men's lives, but to save ; therefore
his miracles, however small in the eyes of the great, yet, to the
believer, they unspeakably surpassed any thing that had ever
been wrought before.
20. His gift of power was not exercised over all winds, and
seas, and fires, but over all flesh ; and therefore, as far as the John xril
body of man is more noble in its creation, than the natural 2-
elements of the globe, in their inanimate state; so much more
excellent were even the gifts of healing given to Christ Jesus,
than any gift that ever pertained to the dispensations that were
before, though much greater in outward appearance.
21. And as much as the soul or spirit is more excellent than
the body of man ; so much greater is the gift and power of God,
in this day of Christ's second appearance, which is a power over
all spirits, and bringeth salvation to all that believe and obey.
22. Christ Jesus had a sufficient gift of power, over all winds,
and seas, and natural elements, to prove to his disciples, that he
descended from that God who had wrought wonders by Moses
and Elias, or Elijah ; and for a similar purpose, the same power
over diseases, which Jesus and his Apostles manifested, was
given to Mother, with other Apostolic gifts ; and they sufficiently
proved, to all who lay open to conviction, that her commission
was from no other than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
23. But as Jesus neither wrought the same, nor so great
ened and increased, in proportion to the increase of light and truth in the earth ;
so that its subjects are harder to be wrought upon than they were in past ao-es.
Jesus testified to the unbelievers of that day, that if the mighty works done amon<*
them, had been done in Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon, they would have repented ; by
which he plainly indicated what part they would have taken, had they lived under
former dispensations. The same testimony may be applied to unbelievers of the
present day ; for surely that spirit of unbelief, which can oppose the light and
evelation of God in the present day, would never have yielded to the testimony of
past ages.
430 REMARKS ON THE EVIDENCE OP B. VIII.
chap. xi. mivades in the eyes of the world, as were wrought by Moses;
so neither were all the same, nor so great outward miracles,
wrought by Mother, as had been wrought by Jesus and his
Apostles. Nothing has been exhibited in this latter day, in the
opinion of the multitude, equal to raising the dead body of
Lazarus from the sepulchre; hence the unbeliever may say, like
Luke xvi. tne lji^g rich glutton in the parable, If one went unto them from
so. the dead, they will repent.
24. But if they love not the truth, and are determined not to
obey it, they have their answer in the words of Abraham, or
rather of Christ ; Neither will they be persuaded, though one
rose from the dead. But the more the truth is confirmed, the
more they will hate and oppose it ; as did the unbelieving Jews,
and as many have evidently done in the present day.
25. Whatever gifts have been, and still are, in the Church, it
is certain, that the main gift of God towards mankind, in this
day, is that which respects the redemption of the soul from sin,
and is therefore great, in proportion as the worth and value of
the soul is great, in comparison to every other created object.
And as the work of redemption is a substance, and no sign,
Mark viii. therefore the substance and no sign shall be given unto this
12- adulterous generation, as evidence of the truth and reality of the
work.
26. That which established the testimony of Christ in his first
appearing, is neither necessary nor proper to be repeated in con-
firmation of the work of his second appearing : but the testimony
itself is a sufficient confirmation of the work; as much as the
tree is a confirmation of the fruit which it bears, and not the
particular operations, by which the tree was planted and estab-
lished.
27. For as the tree is known by its first fruits ; so the fruit
of the second year, is known by its correspondence to the estab-
lished tree, and its fruit of the first year. Therefore, whoever
denies the fruits of righteousness, in this day of Christ's second
appearing, must deny the doctrine and testimony of Christ in his
first appearing, and every sign, wonder, and gift of God, by
which that doctrine or testimony was established.
28. But he that doeth the works of Christ in this day, hath
not only the immediate evidence of the word of Christ, but also
the confirming truth of all the signs, miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Spirit, that ever were given, in confirmation of that word
in all ages.
29. Therefore, upon the plainest principles of truth, and
according to the very nature of things, it cannot be that the
words of Christ are to be commended in his second appearing,
by signs and wonders, for this has been sufficiently done ; but his
works are commended to the acceptance of mankind, by the
JUL
B. VIII. Christ's second appearing. 431
simple authority of his doctrine or testimony, already established : chap, xi.
" A GOOD TREE CANNOT BRING FORTH EVIL FRUIT." Mat.vii.
30. Hence it is, that the signs and wonders of Christ, among 18>
his followers, in this day, are not immediately to the world ; but
his words are to the world, and each of his followers can say,
Though ye believe not me, believe the works : or else believe vie, John, x.
for the very work's sake ; a work which has been pro- 38 X1V'
ductive of righteousness, justice and goodness, with every fruit
of eternal life, by which it has been evidenced or shown out,
with a continual increase from the first visible appearance of the
Church, till the present day.
81. Neither has Cod ever left the Church without sufficient ic0r. ch.
evidence to convince any candid mind that the Divine Spirit con-
tinued to work among his people, by " diversities of operations."
For, in all stages of their travel, there have been more or less
manifestations of Divine and heavenly gifts, operating internally
and externally, to enlighten the understanding, to strengthen the
feeble, confirm the weak in faith, and to comfort and edify the
faithful; which has enabled the Church as a body, progressively,
to grow in grace, and treasure up the knowledge and power of
the Cospel, for themselves and other souls.
32. In the year 1837, the fiftieth after the gathering of the
Church commenced, a remarkable Divine manifestation, as had
been previously predicted, began, and shortly spread through all
the societies of Believers in the land.
33. This work was attended with marvelous operations of
divine power, accompanied with many extraordinary signs and
wonders. Many were exercised in visions of the spiritual world,
and of the beautiful order and glories of the heavens ; also with
revelations and discerning of spirits. Many were endowed with
the gift to hear the melodious songs of the angels, and spirits of
the just ; many beautiful songs were given in this way. Others
were exercised by inspired gifts of instruction, warning, reproof,
and encouragement, &c.
34. These heavenly gifts were adapted to all states and circum-
stances, whereby much new light was revealed on many import-
ant subjects; and many principles which were not fully under-
stood before, were clearly revealed.
35. Many prophetic gifts were given, fortelling future events,
which would take place among Believers, and also in the politi-
cal, providential, and spiritual orders of the world ; and likewise
many wonderful phenomena and convulsions of nature, which
have taken place, were clearly predicted. So that the discern-
ing mind may see that these prophetic revelations were truly
emanations from the Divine prescience.
36. It was frequently foretold, that when the extraordinary
flowings of those spiritual gifts should in a great measure cease
6,
432 REMARKS ON THE EVIDENCE OP, &C. B. VIII.
chap. XI. among Believers, those same manifestations would go into the
world, and operate among them in a manner adapted to their
state. The manner of those spirit manifestations, which have
been operating, and so rapidly spreading in the world, during the
last few years, was clearly foretold : " that it ivould spring up
in places where, and in manners and ways that no mortals
could foresee, nor account for.''''
37. That it would confound all natural philosophy and wisdom
of man; also that it would progressively spread through all
nations, and produce the most extraordinary revolution in the
religious and moral state of mankind, that had ever been effected
since the creation of man. And although much that was errone-
ous would be brought forth, yet much good would be finally
accomplished to the human race.
38. To gain a proper understanding of the nature and design
of this spiritual work, let it be realized, that in all the dispensa-
tions of Grod's work, when by the operations of his Spirit, any
people were called and raised up as subjects and witnesses of a
higher order of light and power, than was previously operating
in the world, among their cotemporaries, so long as that people
maintained the principles revealed to them by the light which
they had received, the work among them was supported by suc-
cessive inspired gifts and revelations.
39. But, when any such order of people began to deviate from
the duties required of them, and to flinch from the cross, then
the spirit would warn them of their danger, but if they refused
to heed the warning, the spirit would withdraw, and spiritual
gifts would cease. And in all ages when inspired revelations and
spiritual gifts have ceased, among any people, and they depended
upon the letter ; however great their former light, and whatever
written rules they may have formed ; that people would certainly
lose their former light and power, and fall back into the dark-
ness and elements of the corrupt world : such are liable to fall
into utter infidelity.
40. These premises are fully verified by the dead and formal
state of Christian professors ; and by the rapid increase of in-
fidelity in the world for ages past, which has been more and more
extending in the present age. The professors of religion having
shut out all belief in present inspired revelations, and spiritual
communications, they have in their dogmas, confined all spiritual
knowledge to the records of what was revealed in former ages.
2 Cor iii. Therefore, as "the letter killeth " and the believers therein are
constantly clashing, as to its meaning, it fails to convince the
soul, and give it that light and power it feels the need of, to
know and do the will of God.
41. On this ground, many fall back, in despair of knowing
spiritual truth, and become infidels. Thus verifying the Scrip-
Prov. xxix.
IS.
B. VIII. PROGRESS OP THE CHURCH, &C. 433
tures, "where there is no vision, the people perish." That is, CxiiP"
where there is no present spiritual manifestations and gifts,
whatever light the people may have had, they perish from spiritu-
ality, and fall under the power of the natural earthly principles
of this fallen world.
42. Witness the awful fall and destruction of the Jews, when
they were no more worthy of revelation. Also, the primitive
Church fell to " the earth, " when the light of the sun of revela- Rev. vi. 12
tion was covered from them. On the same ground all revivals,
up to the dispensation of Christ's second appearing. have failed.
43. For these reasons, God in his owu way and time, in mercy
and condescension to the human race, has opened the doors of
spiritual communications and gifts, in this day, in a marvelous
manner, adapted more and more to all orders and states of man-
kind. And we confidently believe that these manifestations will
continue to spread in various ways, until they shall extend through
all nations, to rescue mankind from their deplorable infidelity;
and ultimately prepare the way for the increasing growth of
the EVERLASTING KINGDOM OP GOD.
CHAPTER XII.
PROGRESS OP THE CHURCH IN GOSPEL ORDER.
As Christ Jesus came into the world, not to condemn the world,
but to redeem and save the world from the nature and effects of
the fall, by which their whole life and practice, stood in direct
enmity against God ; consequently, and of unavoidable necessity,
his whole life and testimony, stood in opposition to the life and
practice of the world.
2. And hence the words of Christ, "The world hateth me, j0hn, vii.
because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." And as jgajgdxr"
the second appearing of Christ was to complete that which was
begun in his first appearing, it could not, in the nature of it, be
different from the first.
3. It was hard to the disordered senses of a lost and corrupt
world, to bear the light of the divine nature manifested in Jesus,
who, in a certain sense, stood remote from all mankind, having
descended out of the ordinary course of natural generation ; and
434
PROGRESS OP THE CHURCH
B. VIII.
CHAP.
XII.
Isa. ii. 11.
xxii), 9.
who contrary to their exalted expectations of the Messiah, made
his appearance in the form of a servant. And so trying was the
manifestation, that Divine Wisdom saw it would not be received,
without a preparatory work of the Spirit, to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord.
4. But how much more painful must it be to the disordered
senses of a lost world, and how much more contrary to the ex-
alted expectations of mankind, when the same fulness of this
divine nature is manifested through a woman, of like passions
with others, and that in the form of a handmaid, for the dis-
covery of man's total depravity, and for bringing him into judg-
ment for every secret action of his life.
5. A manifestation of God, so near, so deep and piercing to
the pride of fallen man, that nothing could seem to be left remain-
ing, of what God had promised by the mouth of his Prophets, to
accomplish in the latter day, for the destruction of iniquity, and
for the salvation of his people.
6. And herein may be understood the following express
declarations : The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the
haughtiness of men shall be bowed down. For the day of the
Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty,
and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought
low. The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of
all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the
earth.
7. And upon the same principle that a work of preparation
was necessary, in order to the manifestation of Christ in his first
appearing, it was required in a more extraordinary manner in his
second, to convict mankind of their sins ; to break and humble
them ; to enlighten and encourage them to look for salvation ;
and to bring them under a sacred obligation, from their own
prayers and solemn vows, to accept of salvation in the order of
God, through whatever means he would please to send it.
8. Therefore it was, that soon after our blessed Mother, and
her companions, came over into America, with the treasures of
the everlasting Gospel, the spirit of Elijah was sent forth, and
began, in a remarkable manner, to prepare the way of the Lord.
9. The work of preparation in America first began at New-
Lebanon, in the county of Columbia, and State of New-York,
and at Hancock, in Berkshire county, State of Massachusetts, in
the year 1779, with the operations of a remarkable revival of
religion, or outpouring of the Divine Spirit, (as has preceded
the planting of the Gospel in every other place.)
10. Preachers and people were generally awakened under the
mighty power of God, and multitudes flocked to their assemblies,
from the adjacent parts around, and were struck with conviction
of their sins. Many received the gift of visions and prophecies,
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 435
by which they saw and testified that the day of full redemption CI^[''
was at hand.
11. Their testimony was against all sin, and was attended with
great power ; and the various exercises and gifts of the Spirit
among the people, manifested the most convincing evidences of
a real work of God. Some, under deep conviction of their sins,
were crying for mercy; others, filled with unspeakable joy, were
carried out in visions and revelations of the glory of the latter
day; of the coming of Christ; the setting up of his kingdom,
and the nature of his government, which was to put an end to wars
and fightings, and restore peace to the earth ; make an end of
sin ; bring in everlasting righteousness, and gather the saints
into one harmonious communion.
12. The subjects of this work testified, that all their former
experience in religion had left them short of real salvation, that
is, it had never saved them from their sins, and that nothing short
of full salvation could constitute a true follower of Christ ; and
further, that the day of judgment, the day of full redemption, and
the coming of Christ were nigh, even at the door.
13. The work among this people was powerful and swift; yet,
as to outward appearance, it was of short duration. In about
eight months time, their visions and prophecies ceased, and the
extraordinary power of their testimony seemed to be at an end,
and none of those things whereof they had testified, as yet
appeared. While in this situation, they were in great distress,
and applied to their leaders for help, who, being in the same con-
dition, candidly confessed that they were unable to lead them any
further.
14. Notwithstanding, the people retained their integrity ; and
in full confidence of seeing their earnest desires accomplished,
they continued their assemblies; and from time to time, by such
as were moved thereto, received mild and encouraging exhorta-
tions to hope and wait, with earnest expectation, for the clay of
their redemption, which was near at hand. Their cries, and
prayers were incessant to God for deliverance, beseeching that he
would raise up instruments to lead them out of all sin ; in this
situation they continued about four months.
15. This was the state of the people in the spring of the year
1780, when, having heard a report by Talmage Bishop, a sub-
ject of the revival, and others, concerning a very strange people
who lived in an obscure place, in the wilderness, northwest of the
city of Albany, they appointed Calvin Harlow to go and make
dilligent search, who and what these people were, and report
accordingly.
16. Calvin Harloiv went, and returned ; but neither the people
nor himself being fully satisfied, he went again, in company with
Joseph Meacham, Amos Hammond and Aaron Kibbce. The two
436 PROGRESS OP THE CHURCH B. VIII.
CHAP.
xir.
former were preachers of the Baptist order, to which belonged
the greater part of the people in the revival.
17. These four persons returned, being now fully convinced,
and established in their own minds, that what they had seen and
heard was the work and truth of God. Whereupon the people
at large were also encouraged to go and examine for themselves,
as these had done, and each one to conduct in relation to those
strange people and their testimony, as they thought proper.
18. Accordingly, during the latter part of the spring, and in
the course of the ensuing summer and fall, great crowds, both of
men and women, from different parts, resorted to the place
(then called Niskeuna,) to see and hear, and judge for them-
selves. And it was found, beyond all doubt or contradiction, to
every candid inquirer after truth, that God had verily raised him-
self up witnesses, and endowed them with all those gifts of the
Holy Spirit that were given to the Apostles and primitive Church,
in the day of Christ's first appearing.
19. The light and power, and gifts of the Holy Spirit were so
great, especially in the Mother, attended with the word of pro-
phecy, in so marvelous a manner, that every heart was searched,
and every rein of them that heard, was tried. The loss of man
was opened from its foundation ; and the way of salvation by
Christ, as a straight and narrow way, a way of self-denial and
the cross, was opened by a testimony accompanied with the most
convincing evidence.
20. Many believed with all their hearts, and according to the
requirement of G-od, manifested to them through the Mother,
confessed their sins one by one, and showed their former deeds,
and made restitution of all things wherein they had wronged any
one in times past, and set out, once for all, to become a harmless,
just, and upright people.
21. Many who believed from the heart, and were obedient to
the light and revelation of Cod, made known unto them through
the witnesses, received the gifts of the Holy Spirit; such as
tongues, and revelation, and visions, and prophecies, and many
extraordinary gifts of healing. And all that were honest hearted,
without exception, received the internal power of salvation from
all sin.
22. These were the gifts and evidences accompanying the
testimony, at the first opening of the Gospel in America. And
from this small beginning at Niskeuna, (now Watervliet,) the
work of God increased and spread to different parts in the States
of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New-Hampshire, and Maine.
And the multitude of all who believed and were faithful, were
filled with great joy and gladness ; increased in faith, in power,
and in wisdom; and being led by one Spirit, they became of
one heart, and of one soul.
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 437
23. The opening of the testimony continued about four years c^p'
successively ; after which it was closed, and withdrawn from the
world, and a work of preparation continued among the Believers,
under the ministry of Elder James Whittaker, and others, for
about three years longer, by which they were prepared to come
together, as a united body, in Gospel order.
24. As the kingdom of heaven is compared to a net that was Mat ^j.
cast into the sea, which gathered of every kind ; so the testimony 47.
of the Gospel was open and free to all, without exception. It
took souls as it found them, all in their sins, of various disposi-
tions and intentions, some honest hearted, faithful and true to
their own salvation, others insincere, rotten hearted and deceitful.
25. And as, when the net is full and brought to shore, there
is a separation made between the good and bad, and the bad are
cast away, and the good cleansed and gathered into vessels and
saved ; so in the internal and increasing work of the Gospel, there
was a constant separation between good and evil, sin and holi-
ness ; and while the evil was purged away, the good remained.
Like the shaking of a fan, when the chaff is shaken out and
carried away with the wind, and there remains only good wheat.
In this the words of Christ were fulfilled, that he would gather Mat Xlii
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do 41.
iniquity.
26. Every thing that has life and growth, from a law initself,
hath its beginning from a seed planted in its proper season ; so
the word and testimony of Christ is the seed of God, by which
the Church is begotten, conceived and brought forth ; and as
many as receive the word and testimony of Christ, and are thus
begotten and conceived, in any opening of the testimony, are the
seed of one distinct body, to be born in due season, in their pro-
per order, as members of Christ.
27. The Church is compared to the human body, which has a
head and many members united therewith ; or to a tree, which
hath many branches united to the root : as every part of the tree
is first formed under ground, and the body has all its parts in
the womb of her that is with child ; so the Church is first formed
out of sight, by the invisible operations of the word and testi-
mony proceeding from the Divine spiritual Parentage, and the
joint and corresponding influence of the two first-born in the
new creation. And as there is a travailing and bringing forth,
in the natural case ; so there is also in the spiritual.
28. No individual member of the human body can be born
separate and distinct from the rest ; therefore it is not by uniting
members that are separately born, at sundry times, that the
human body is formed. But as the whole body is brought forth
at one birth, and in order, with all its corresponding parts, so
also is the birth of the Church brought forth in its original order,
438 PROGRESS OP THE CHURCH B. VIII.
chap, by the unity of the Spirit in all its members. And this is
■XJI- effected in and by the joint power and influence of the two first-
born, which is the word of their testimony.
29. By this the Church, as the visible body of Christ, is jointly
and invisibly begotten and conceived, and visibly brought forth,
one body, perfect in its order, and in all its corresponding parts,
as the offspring of Cod, coming forth from the order of heaven ;
rooted, settled, and grounded in the Divine nature; sound and
unshaken in her faith ; pure and exemplary in her morals ; un-
polluted and unstained by the flesh ; and separated and unspotted
from the world and from all sin. And in the same manner must
every individual be born again, who is ever born in the Church,
for the Church is perpetuated by souls being born in her, through
the Mother Spirit.
30. Hence the work of regeneration and salvation, respects
souls in a united capacity ; for no individual can be regenerated
nor saved in any other capacity than in a Church relation, any
more than a hand or foot can be born separate or distinct from
the human body, and united to some other body after it is sepa-
n, 12. rately born ; for no soul can be saved out of the body of Christ.
l John i 31. If we walk in the light, as Cod is in the light, vie have
5, 7. fellowship one with another, and the blood (or life) of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanseth us from all sin. And without this light and
fellowship there can be no salvation. Therefore, the first work
of the Spirit of preparation, in this day of Christ's second appear-
ing, was to convince those who committed sin, that they were
is. ' not born of Cod; for whosoever is born of God sinneth not.
32. And as many as were thus convinced, and were willing
and desirous to confess and forsake their sins, and to find salva-
tion from them, came into the testimony, confessed their sins,
and set out to travel in the work of regeneration and redemp-
tion. So that all who were faithful, gradually, and progres-
sively, traveled out of an evil nature, by mortification and the
cross of Christ ; and became separate from the world, and in
their spiritual relation, as much out of sight of the world as is
the seed of a plant under ground, or the infant in the womb.
33. And after having gained a sufficient degree of deliverance
from the nature of lust, covetousness, selfishness, and the various
branches of an evil nature ; and having that growth and maturity
Gal. v. 22, iu the principles and " fruits of the Spirit, which are love, peace,
23- meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, faithfulness, goodness,
temperance," benevolence and such like ; they were then enabled,
practically, to come forth in outward visible order, proceeding
from the order of that which is invisible.
34. Accordingly, in the month of September, in the year
1787, the Believers began to gather together with one con-
sent; first at New-Lebanon, and shortly after in other places,
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 439
for the purpose of supporting one joint union and interest in all c5,^p"
things, spiritual and temporal, for the mutual benefit and com- '
fort of each other, and for other pious and charitable uses,
according to the light of God they had received, and their under-
standing of a Church in the true order of the Gospel.
35. And it was revealed, and manifested to the Believers at
large, that first, Joseph Meacham, and afterwards Lucy
Wright, were raised up, prepared and appointed, by the gift
and power of God, each in their own order, to take the first lead
and spiritual concern in the order and government of the Church ;
and they were mutually acknowledged by all, as our beloved
Parents, standing in the visible order, and relation, of the first
Father and Mother of our redemption, who are the invisible first
Pillars upon which the spiritual house of God is built.
36. And by these, [Father Joseph and Mother Lucy., who
were the first in spiritual relation,) with others as helps in the
ministry, the Church was established, and set in that order and
correspondent relation, under which every member, both male
and female, as brethren and sisters of one family, and members
of one united body, enjoying their free and equal rights and
privileges, pertaining to the spiritual travel, increase, and up-
building of the whole in all things.
37. Ministers were likewise raised up and appointed by the
revelation of God, and sent forth from the Church, by the Minis-
try, to labor among distant believers, in word and doctrine, to
purge out iniquity, to reprove wrong, to strengthen and encourage
the weak, and confirm the faithful. And by the same gift, Elders
were appointed, of each sex, to stand in their proper order, as
leading members of their different families, or circles of the
society.
38. Deacons and Deaconesses also, in their proper gift, order,
and office, in the temporal affairs of the Church, and each, ac-
cording to their gift and talents for usefulness, were felt and
mutually acknowledged by all, according to the order and gift
of God by which they were appointed.
39. Therefore, as each member of the body is dependent on
another, and as " the light of the body is the eye;" so the whole
body, that came forth into visible Church order, were subject to
the visible head, the joint Parentage, which stood in Christ the
invisible head, as the medium through which the whole visible
body is full of light.
40. And as both the eyes in one head, centre in one, and see
every thing alike, and as the true watchers, when the Lord
should bring again Zion, were to see eye to eye; so, according to isa. hj. s.
that one light which flows from Christ the Head, through both the
man and woman, all things were disposed, regulated, and set in
order, in a perfect law of righteousness, justice, and truth.
440 PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH, &C. B. VIII.
•
c*?Arp- 41. As the work of redemption is a great work, even from its
! beginning until its final accomplishment ; so all iniquity was not
purged away at once, nor was the complete order of the Church
obtained in an instant.
42. In the preparatory work and building of the Church, the
Believers passed through many scenes of mortification, trial,
tribulation, and temptation, in which all the faithful were united
from the eldest to the youngest, as the heart of one man. Sharp
reproofs against the flesh, and all sin, and every band and tie of
a carnal nature, were continually rolling like peals of thunder ;
and the word and testimony of eternal life, like perpetual flames
of fire, sat upon each of them, until a complete victory, over the
nature and practice of evil, was mutually obtained.
43. And as sin and confusion was removed, and every thing
contrary and offensive to the pure nature of the Gospel was pur-
ged out ; so purity, order, and righteousness were established.
Every thing that could be shaken, was shaken ; and that which
could neither be shaken nor moved, still remained, rooted and
grounded in the foundation of eternal truth.
isa. iv. 3,4. 44. In all this work was the promise of God fulfilled, relating
to the work of Christ in the latter day — "And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever is left in Zion, and remaineth in Jerusalem,
shall be called Holy, every one written among the living in
Jerusalem : when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of
the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jeru-
salem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment and by
the spirit of burning."
Mal.iii.2, 45. " But who may abide the day of his coming? and who
shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and,
like fuller' 's soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and a purifier
of silver : and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them
as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
in righteousness.
46. Such in reality, was the nature, and spirit of the work,
which was wrought in the Believers, and by which they were
severally, mutually, and jointly prepared to stand as a united
body, fitly joined together in all its corresponding parts, so as to
form a pure and spiritual relation in the building of the Church.
And thus from faith to faith, and from one attainment to another,
there was a gradual and continual increase of unity, purity, and
order, until the present order of the Church was fully established.
3
B. VIII. THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED, &C. 441
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED IN GOSPEL ORDER.
The present Gospel order of the Church was established in the chap.
year 1792, although the gathering and preparatory work began xin-
some years sooner. Most of the members of the Church at Nero-
Lebanon, were gathered in the year 1788. At which time they
entered verbally into covenant with each other, to stand as one
joint community in Church relation.
2. In this Covenant they freely devoted themselves and
services, with all their temporal interest, to God, for the main-
tenance of the Gospel, and the mutual support and benefit of
each other, and for other charitable uses, according to the light
and revelation of God which they had received, and which was
there and then, and from time to time afterwards, revealed
and made known, in regard to the order and building of the
Church.
3. After seven years experience, the said Covenant was com-
mitted to writing, in form, for the security of their just and
natural rights, and for the more perfect information of all whom
it might thereafter concern. And five years after this, the Cove-
nant was again renewed.
4. It may therefore be proper here, for the better understand-
ing of our faith and practice, in regard to the united interest and
equal rights of the Church, to state the conditions and most
essential particulars of this Covenant, as they are taken from the
written form of the Covenant itself; they are as follows:
5. "In the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
eighty-eight, the year in which most of the- members of the
Church were gathered, the following order and Covenant, was
then, and from time to time after, made known and understood,
received, and entered into, by us members of the Church, agree-
able to our understanding of the order and covenant of the Church
in Gospel order.
6. " It then was, and still is our faith, being confirmed by our
experience, that there can be no Church in complete order,
according to the law of Christ, without a joint interest and union,
in which all the members have equal rights and privileges, accord-
ing to their calling and needs, in things spiritual and temporal.
7. "For in this we have greater privilege and opportunity
of doing good to each other, as well as to the rest of mankind ;
and of receiving according to our needs, jointly and equally, one
with another, agreeable to the following articles of Covenant.
29
XIII
442 THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED B. VIII.
ch^P- 8. "First. All, or as many of us, as were of age to act for
ourselves, who offered ourselves as members of the Church, were
to do it freely, and voluntarily, as a religious duty, and accord-
ing to our own faith and desire.
9. " Second. Youth and children, being under age, were not
to be received as members, or as being under the immediate care
and government of the Church, except by the request, or free
consent, of both their parents, if living ; but if they were left by
one of their parents to the care of the other, then by the request,
or free consent, of that parent; but if the child had no parents,
then by the request or free consent, of such person or persons as
had just and lawful right in the care of the child, together with
the child's own desire.
10. " Third. All who were received as members, being of age,
who had any substance or property, and were free from debt, or
any just demand from those that were without, such as creditors,
or heirs, were allowed to bring in their substance, as their natural
and lawful right ; and to give it as a part of the united interest of
the Church, according to their own faith and desire ; to be under
the order and government of the Deacons or overseers of the
temporal interest of the Church, for the use and support of the
Church, or for any other use that the Gospel might require,
according to the understands 2; and discretion of those members
with whom it was intrusted, and who were appointed to that
office and care.
11. " Fourth. All the members who were received into the
Church, were to possess one united interest, as a religious right ;
that is, all were to have just and equal rights and privileges,
according to their needs, in the use of all things in the Church,
without any difference being made, on account of what any of us
brought in, so long as we remained in obedience to the order and
government of the Church, and were holden in relation as members.
All the members were, likewise, equally holden, according to their
abilities, to maintain and support one united interest, in union and
conformity with the order and government of the Church.
12. "Fifth. As it was not the duty, nor purpose of the
Church, in uniting into Church order, to gather, and lay up an
interest of this world's goods ; but what we became possessed of
by honest industry, more than for our own support, was to be
devoted to charitable uses, for the relief of the poor, and such
other uses as the Grospel might require. Therefore, it was, and
still is our faith, never to bring debt nor blame against the
Church, or each other, for any interest, or services which we
have reduced to the united interest of the Church ; but freely to
give our time and talents, as brethren and sisters, for the mutual
good one of another, and other charitable uses, according to the
order of the Church.
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 443
13. "The foregoing is the true sense of the Covenant of the c™'
Church, in relation to the order, and manner of the possession,
and uses of a joint interest, understood, and supported by us the
members.
14. "And we do fully, and freely, in the most solemn manner,
acknowledge and testify, in the presence of each other, (and are
free and willing to do it before all men if required,) that is is
that, which we have kept and supported, according to our under-
standing, from the time of our first gathering; and still mean to
support, as that which we believe to be both our privilege and
duty.
15. " And we have had the experience of seven years labor
and travel, and having received a greater confirmation and estab-
lishment in our faith, we believe that the order and coven-
ant which we have solemnly entered into, is a greater privilege,
and enables us to be more useful to ourselves and others, than
any other state within our knowledge ; and is that which was
required, and is accepted of God; and which we feel in duty
bound, according to our faith and understanding, in the most
conscientious manner to support and keep."
16. The foregoing are the most essential particulars of the
Covenant in form, which was verbally entered into by the mem-
bers of the Church, in the year 1788 ; and committed to writing,
and signed by the members at large, in the year 1795; and
renewed, on account of further provision in the order of Deacons,
in the year 1801, and is closed in the following words:
17. "And we do, by these presents, solemnly covenant with
each other, for ourselves, and assigns, never hereafter to bring
debt or demand against the said Deacons, nor their successors,
nor against any member of the Church, or community, jointly or
severally on account of any of our services, or property, thus
devoted and consecrated to the aforesaid sacred and charitable
uses.
18. "And we also covenant with each other, to subject our-
selves in union, as brethren and sisters, who are called to follow
Christ in regeneration, in obedience to the order, rules and
government of the Church : And this Covenant shall be a suffi-
cient witness for us before all men, and in all cases relating to the
possession, order, and use, of the united interest of the Church.
19. In testimony whereof, we have, both brethren and sisters,
hereunto subscribed our names, in the presence of each other,
this twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord, one
thousand eight hundred and one." This covenant has been since
renewed, and more fully illustrated, but according to the estab-
lished principles of the original.
20. It may here be understood, that this covenant which was
entered into in the year 1788, immediately respects the Church
444 THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED B. VIII.
chap, of New-Lebanon, as the first in Gospel order, in this day of
" Christ's second appearing. And, after the example and order of
the first, the Church was shortly after established in several of
the principal places where the word and testimony of the Gospel
had been planted, and such of the Believers as were scattered
in different parts, gathered at those places.
21. Particularly at Watervliet, near Albany, in the State of
New-York ; at Hancock, Tyringham, Harvard, and Shirley,
in the State of Massachusetts ; at Enfield, in the State of Con-
necticut ; at Canterbury and New- Enfield, in the State of Neio-
Hampshire ; and at Alfred and Sabbath-day pond, (now New-
Gloucester,) about 30 miles from Portland, in the State of Maine.
22. Hence the whole body of Believers was placed in distinct
societies or communities, and those again into large families,
situated according to circumstances, for convenience in life; each
family, in their own order, having their own government in their
temporal economy ; and in spiritual matters, having their imme-
diate head of influence in their own order and community ; and
each particular community having their corresponding relation to
the Church at Lebanon, which is the centre of union to all who
believe.
23. All the Believers, who came together in the full order and
covenant of a Church relation, possessed all things jointly;
neither said any of them that aught of the things which he pos-
sessed was his own; but every thing was possessed in a perfect
law of justice and equity, by all the members.
24. However, there were some, who gathered together into
large families, and stood in a family relation, whose circumstances
did not immediately admit of a joint union and interest in all
things ; and who devoted their services, and the use and improve-
ment only, of their temporal substance, for the joint support and
up-building of each other ; while their real and personal estates
remained in substance, as they were at the time of their coming
together.
25. Such were not considered as standing in perfect Gospel
order, but held a certain relation to the Church accordiug to the
order in which they stood. It may, therefore, be proper to make
a few remarks on the nature of the Church Covenant, in which
alone the perfect order and equality of the Gospel can be en-
joyed.
26. First. As one of the most essential principles of the
Church, was to maintain a perfect law of justice and equity, both
in relation to themselves and others; therefore parents, who had
estates, and children under age, could not bring their substance
into the united interest of the Church, after it was established,
unless the inheritance of heirship was secured to them until they
became of age.
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 445
27. And provided the parents or children were gathered, with chap.
their substance, into any family, in the like capacity, the inheri- — - — '. — ,
tance of the children was secured until they became of age. And
it was an established principle in the Church, that children who
were faithful and obedient to their parents until they became of
age, were then entitled to their natural and just portion.
28. Second. As the Church was established upon the princi-
ples of Gospel liberty and freedom, and as no one could be bound
contrary to their own faith and desire, having a perfect under-
standing of the nature of their undertaking ; therefore, children in
minority, could not be fully considered as members of the Church,
until they became of mature age to judge and act for themselves.
29. Nevertheless, children who had faith, and who were
wrought upon by the Spirit of light from God, (of whom there
were many that received faith with their parents,) enjoyed equal
rights and privileges of all things in the Church, according to
their needs, and the measure of their faith and understanding;.
30. Third. As the gathering together of the Believers, into
the order and liberty of the Gospel, immediately respected their
separation from the perplexing cares and entanglements of the
world ; therefore such as were under obligations to creditors or
heirs, were not considered in full membership in the Church,
until they were perfectly free from all just demands of those who
were without. Yet, all such as were diligent in paying their just
debts, and faithful in all matters according to their light and
understanding, were as really owned in their order, and accepted
in their relation to the Church as any others.
31. Fourth, As the gathering of the Church, was not from
any worldly motives, to lay up in store of this world's goods, but
solely as a religious duty and privilege, for mutual benefit ; there-
fore, all had an equal right as members, jointly, in the use of all
things in the Church, and according to their several needs,
whether they brought in any temporal substance or not. And in
those who brought in substance, more or less, was that Scripture is.
fulfilled, He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that 15. °rvm'
gathered little had no lack.
32. Fifth. As all the members of the Church are equally
holden, according to their abilities, to maintain and support one
united interest, in union and conformity to the order and govern-
ment of the Church ; therefore, all labor with their hands, to main-
tain the mutual comfort and benefit of one another by honest
industry and acts of kindness — not by compulsion, but of choice,
from a principle of faith, justice, and equity.
83. Ministers, Elders, and Deacons, all, without exception,
labor with their hands ; excepting at such times as are taken up
by each in their particular gifts and callings, which all tend to
the mutual increase and benefit of the whole. And no member
Exo. xvi.
446 THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED B. VIII.
chap. or members are required by any law or custom ill the Church, to
' go beyond their abilities, or to act contrary to their own faith.
But all are equally holden by the unity of the Spirit and their
covenant, to conform to the established principles and rules of
the Church, or they cannot keep their union.
34. Sixth. As the Gospel is perfectly free, and the free exer-
cise of conscience can in no wise be retarded; therefore, all
who believe in the Gospel of Christ's present appearing, ever
remain in perfect liberty, without any breach of order, to use and
improve their own temporal interest as a separate possession, or
to unite with others of the same faith, in one joint union; either
of which must be according to their own faith and discretion, pro-
vided they maintain the true faith of the Gospel.
35. Seve?ith. The order and regulation of the Church, in all
spiritual matters, is entrusted, by the unity in the gift of God, to
the Ministry and Elders, or elder brethren and sisters, of each
community and family. To them also is committed the charge
of sending out ministers to preach the Gospel to the world of
mankind.
36. None of the Ministry hold any title to lands or property,
as individuals, more than any other members ; nor have they any
pensions or salaries ; but whatever they need for their support at
home, or expenditure abroad, they receive at such times as they
need it.
37. The concern and regulation of the temporal matters of the
Church is entrusted to the Deacons, appointed to that office by
the joint union of the body. To them, their assigns and suc-
cessors in the Gospel, appointed to the like office, is entrusted
the whole of the joint interest of the Church, to support and
maintain the same in behalf of the Church, and their heirs in the
Gospel forever.
38. And their office and care it is, to have the principal con-
cern in dealing with those who are without; and to provide all
things necessary for the comfortable support of the Church,
jointly and equally, according to the number and need of each
family in the Church.
39. Besides the first order of Deacons and Deaconesses, there
are also Deacons and Deaconesses in each family, whose care is
to see that every member in the family, from the eldest to the
youngest, enjoy their just and equal rights, according to their
several needs, of all temporal things possessed in the family.
40. In the order and government or regulation of the Church,
no compulsion or violence is either used, appproved, or found
necessary. So that, according to our faith, in the full and per-
fect establishment of Christ's government among his people, no
kind of corporal punishment is or can be exercised on any person,
among those who stand in the first order of Gospel liberty.
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 447
41. Neither Ministers, Elders, nor Deacons, nor any others, ™^p"
either in spiritual or temporal trust in the Church, are appointed — - — '. —
to their several callings by their own individual choice, nor by a
majority of votes among the people; but by a spontaneous spirit
of union, which flows through the body, by which every useful
talent is brought into exercise for the time being, for the benefit
of all concerned.
42. Unto every member of the body is given a measure of the icor. xii.
Spirit of Christ to profit withal, in which, by a faithful improve- 7-
ment of their created talents, every member becomes prepared,
and thus grows up into a fitness to fill that place and order,
in the spiritual house of God, for which they were created ;
and their real qualifications appear and become mutually useful
to the body, so that every improved talent and gift of Cod,
given to individuals, thereby becomes a real gift of God to the
whole.
43. As there can be no arbitrary appointment of members in the
human body, to which the body of Christ is compared, and no
one member can be appointed to fill the place or office of another,
but each member fills its proper place and office, by a spontane-
ous influence and a mutual concurrence of every other member ;
so is the appointment of members in the Church of Christ.
44. But as the human body has a leading part, which is the
head, by which all the other members of the body are directed,
and as the head directs and governs by the general consent of
the members, so it is with the Church or body of Christ.
45. The revelation and gift of Cod is given to the Ministry,
as the head of the body, in relation to lots of office and trust,
and other matters of importance ; and through these, communi-
cated to the other members. Yet nothing is considered as
established in the Church until it receives the general consent
and united approbation of the body ; and thus, by the body, in
union with the head, every thing important is established.
46. And each member of the body throughout, is also depend-
ent on another. The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no i car. xii.
need of thee; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of ai>22-
you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to
be more feeble, are necessary.
47. Such as are entrusted with the greatest care, are the
greatest servants ; and such as feel care, concern, and labor for
the welfare of the whole, are verily the servants of all, and are
the more highly beloved and esteemed for their works' sake, and i?
counted worthy of double honor.
48. Those little, simple, and very comprehensive words of
Christ Jesus. Whosoever will come after me, let him deny him- Mark
self, and take up his cross and folloto me, were received and Lukf, xiv
established among the people of Cod, as a foundation and lovely -6> -"■
1 Tim.
VIII.
448 THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED B. VIII.
chap- principle, from the time they first heard and received the Gospel
' of Christ's second appearing, unto the present day.
49. Hence no true member of the body sought to obtain the
pre-eminence, or to usurp authority over another; but each to
build up, and support the welfare and comfort of the other, and
consequently all were busy, peaceable, and happy ; and every
blessing, spiritual and temporal, ensued, as naturally as rays of
light flow from the sun, or the fruits of harvest from the heat
and moisture of summer.
50. From the year 1780, until the present time, 1856, includ-
ing a period of seventy-six years, there never has been an
instance of any brother going to law with brother, in any case.
Nor has there been any such thing as a general council, or even
a Church meeting, to settle any difference among the members ;
because there never were any differences, or debates, or divisions
in the Church, that ever required any such thing.
51. The very Spirit of the Gospel, which was received from
God, through Mother Ann, and through the first witnesses of her
testimony, was that from the beginning, by which all the true
and honest-hearted who received it, became of one faith, of one
heart, and of one soul ; and which in its certain consequences,
was productive of peace and good will, humility and temperance,
condescension and obedience, order and harmony, with every
other fruit of righteousness, and eternal life.
52. Such in reality, is the nature and consequence of that
testimony which we received and obeyed from the heart, and
have, according to our understanding, carefully and conscienti-
ously maintained and supported from the beginning, and in the
practice of which we now live, at this present day.
53. And such is the nature of the work of God, in all its
corresponding parts, both visible and invisible, and such the
certain effects, which are manifest in all its fruits, that it cannot
be imitated, so as to stand, by any human wisdom or power on
earth, separate from the Spirit and power of the living and true
God.
54. Since the testimony of the Gospel of Christ's second
appearing, was first opened in America, from the year 1780, to
the present period, there never has been any such thing as a
Church Creed, or Confession of Faith committed to writing, to
limit or bind the Church from a further increase.
55. All the affairs, in the order, government, or regulation of
the Church, are transacted according to the present circumstances,
or an immediate and present gift of God ; and everything is
strictly observed from a principle of faith, implanted in the heart
of every individual, jointly and severally.
Jame? ii ^6. Their Confession of Faith, if it may be so called, is to
is. show their faith by their works, in doing justice and loving
B. VIII. IN GOSPEL ORDER. 449
CHAP.
XIII.
mercy ; being fully persuaded, that where there are no doers of
the very works of righteousness, there is neither a true faith nor
a true Church, nor any fruits or evidence by which the true
Church may be known or distinguished from the false, by those
who are without.
57. It may be observed, that the Covenant which was entered
into by the Church, was kept and maintained as an internal law,
during seven years ; and it was afterwards committed to writing,
in form, on account of those who were without, and to convey an
understanding of the faith of the Church in relation to a united
interest ; and to confirm it beyond dispute, as the mutual faith and
practice of the Church, to all whom it might concern, it was
signed by the members at large.
58. But this form of the Covenant, is not the Covenant itself.
The internal spirit and substance of the Covenant is more than
ever was, or ever will be written with paper and ink, being the
fulness of the law of Christ, written by the Spirit of God, in the
heart, and on the mind of every true member of his Church ; and
is by them kept and maintained as an internal law of liberty,
justice, and equity. And although the spirit and substance of
the Covenant is not contrary to the form, yet it is exclusive of,
and entirely distinct from any written form whatever.
59. Thus, the promise of God by his Prophets, concerning
Christ, is fulfilled: I will give thee for a covenant of the people, isa. xiii. 6.
for a light of the Gentiles. Behold the days come, saith the ^'^Xl\
Lord, that I ivill make a new covenant 101th the house of Israel. Heb.viii.s.
I will put my laics into their mind, and write them in their
hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
60. Christ, in his first and second appearing, has made mani-
fest the whole spirit and substance of the law, in the two tables
of the New Covenant ; and the two Anointed Ones, or two first-
born in the new creation, have finished this work, between whom
the covenant of eternal life is established ; hence the spirit and
substance of this new Covenant, in its fulness, is written in the
hearts, and on the minds of all their spiritual children.
61. And therefore, in the gathering, building, increase and
establishment of God's spiritual house, all the members of the
Church, both male and female, as his sons and daughters,
brethren and sisters of one family, according to their lots and
several abilities, possess and enjoy one mutual interest, and one
united inheritance, in regard both to the things of time and
eternity.
62. However humiliating to the pride of fallen man, the' pre-
sent work of God may be, in disannulling their human systems,
and forms of worship ; yet the work has commenced, and will be
accomplished. Already have we ourselves suffered the wreck of
all our own carnal works and inventions ; yet we have had, and
450
INCREASING WORK OF
B. VIII.
CAIAP- still have, the greatest cause of thankfulness to Almighty God,
■ — for that work which is accompanied with the real and abiding
treasures of salvation and eternal life; and have therefore
Heb. x. 31. received joyfully the spoiling of our goods, and have received,
even in this life, an hundred fold, according to the promise of
Christ.
63. And certain it is, that by those means which seemed fool-
ish to the wisdom of this world, has God, according to his own
unchangeable purpose, completed the foundation of his spiritual
building, and established that law of order, harmony, peace and
righteousness in the earth, that will stand forever ; and which,
in its increasing operations, will, in the end, be an everlasting
blessing to all nations.
CHAPTER XIV.
Isa. ix. 7.
Hosea, xii.
10.
Mark, iv.
30.
Luke, xiii.
18.
PROPHECIES AND PROMISES FULFILLING IN THE PRESENT
INCREASING WORK OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.
Known unto God are all his works from the foundation of the
world ; and as far as possible, invisible spiritual things have
been revealed by the things that are made ; therefore said, the
Lord by the Prophet Hosea, I have multiplied visions, and used
similitudes, by the ministry of the Prophets.
2. Christ Jesus, the first who received the substance of the
promise, seemed often at a loss for means to convey an under-
standing of spiritual things to souls that were lost in their sins:
and therefore he had recourse to similitudes, and compared
spiritual things with natural, as the most striking means of con-
veyance. " Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or
with what comparison shall we compare it? Unto what is the
kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? "
3. When Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a grain of
mustard-seed, to leaven hid in three measures of meal, or to a
net cast into the sea, he could not mean that there was any re-
semblance in the case to the view of the natural eye. And
therefore, it must be a false imagination that will look for the
spiritual object to appear in the natural form, or shape of those
things to which it may have been compared.
B. VIII. Christ's kingdom. 451
4. It would be very unnatural and unreasonable to look for a CJ*,AP-
. XIV-
kingdom to appear in the shape or form of a net, or of a piece of — - — ■ —
leaven ; yet in the spiritual mind there is a true sense, in which
these things in nature have a resemblance to the spiritual work
of God. And this is particularly made manifest, in the present
day, in and by the Church of Christ, which is built according to
the fore-knowledge of God, answerable to all the similitudes that
were ever drawn by the Spirit of Christ, in Prophets or
Apostles.
5. The Church of the latter day was represented by the Pro-
phets, under the similitude of a kingdom, a city, particularly
Jerusalem, Mount Zion, the temple, and such like objects of
visible glory ; and the gathering and uniting of God's people into
Church order, is compared to the gathering of the Israelites, from
the countries in which they were dispersed, and establishing them
in the possession of their own land.
6. But to frustrate the carnal mind, Christ and the Apostles
represent the same spiritual work, by things directly contrary ;
so that the proud and aspiring have as good reason to look for
the promise to be fulfilled in planting a grain of mustard-seed, as
in setting up a great visible kingdom ; for thereunto is the king-
dom of heaven likened. Therefore, it is necessary to consider
the true signification of the promises of God to his Church and
people, and wherein they have been fulfilled.
7. Whatever the promise of God literally referred to, whether
to a kingdom, a new city, or a new heaven and earth, it doubtless
alluded to men and women, living on the earth, in and among
whom the work of God was to be wrought, and to whom the pro-
mises were finally to be fulfilled, for the establishment of ever-
lasting righteousness and peace; therefore, such must constitute
the true Church of Christ, the only antetype of every figure, and
the substance of every blessing promised.
8. We shall take notice of a few general promises, which com-
prehend all the particular ones, relating to the Church of the
latter day, together with their plain and pointed accomplish-
ment ; and first we shall consider what was promised through
the Prophet Daniel.
9. By the fate of the image which was shown to Nebuchad- Dan. ii. 29,
nezzar, and of the four beasts which appeared to Daniel, both 3i-35&ylu
representing four great empires, God did particularly promise
and show the final dissolution of those tyrannical governments, by
which mankind were bound in ignorance and wickedness.
10. In the fourth and last of these empires, antichrist would
have his reign, in which the civil and ecclesiastical powers would
be divided, like the feet and toes of the image, and into which
th« existing powers of government would gather, for the support
of the whole system.
452 INCREASING WORK OF B. VIII.
c,HAp- 11. A stone was also cut out of the mountain without hands,
— . — ! — and smote the image on his feet, which were part iron and part
clay, and broke them to pieces, and continued to break and bruise
every part of the image, until the whole was broken in pieces
together; and the wind carried them away, and no place was
found for them ; and the stone that smote the image, became
a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
12. It was thereby expressly shown, and promised, that all
tyrannical powers should be" weakened, in the latter end of anti-
christ's reign, by a mixture of republican principles ; that is, the
Dan. ii. 43. seed of men, where all, however divided, have equal power and
authority, and where those antichristian and republican principles
should be blended together, like hard iron and soft clay ; there
God would smite them both together, by his providential work,
R which will prepare the way for the everlasting Gospel, given by
o, 7. inspiration from heaven.
13. All this God is particularly fulfilling in this latter day;
for, as stone grinds and wears away iron and brass, silver and
gold ; so the truth of God is superior to all the most polished
systems and principles of men, and must in the end, grind and
wear them away till no place be found for them.
14. And as monarchial and republican principles are mixed
with antichristian principles in every department ; so this mixed
government is partly strong and partly broken, and the different
parties help to weaken and break each other. And as neither
are founded on the revelation and spiritual work of God; so
neither can stand, but in the end must fall together; and only
by a proper relation to the spiritual work of God, can the prin-
ciples of real and true freedom be finally established.
15. For neither empire, nor republic, founded in the corrup-
tions and depravity of the fall, can stand in the shaking of this
last and great day of God Almighty ; and therefore the perfectly
just and peaceable kingdom of the Messiah, is opened as a refuge
for all that would escape the promiscuous wreck and ruin of the
antichristian world.
16. This was also included in the same prophecy through
Dan. h. 44. Daniel. "And in the days of these kings, [that is, in the time
of the fourth empire, before the kingdom of antichrist is at an
end,] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall
never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these king-
doms, and it shall stand forever."
chap.^vii.9, 17. And further, says the same Prophet, "I beheld till the
thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit. I saw
in the night visions, and behold, the likeness of* the Son of Man
* The word one fas in the present version,) is not in the original, the meaning
is, the likeness of the Son of man, in and with his saints.
13, 14.
B. VIII. Christ's kingdom. 453
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, c^^f'
and they brought him near before him. And there was given
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations
and languages, should serve him ; his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed."
18. "And judgment was given to the saints of the Most Dan.vii.22,
High ; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 27-
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the king-
dom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting king-
dom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."
19. Hence the breaking and demolishing of that which was
corrupt, and the setting up of that which should stand forever,
was not only promised as an event most certainly to take place ;
but also the time when it should take place was revealed and pro-
mised by the same Prophet.
20. " Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said Dan. viii.
unto that certain saint which spake, how long shall be the vision l3> u-
concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation,
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot ?
And he said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
21. This vision of Daniel is dated 553 years before the Ezek iv 5;
Christian era, which taken from 2300, leaves 1747, as the year 6.
for the promise to be fulfilled, counting a day for a year in the
first given number, as is usual with the Prophets.
22. Man is the temple or habitation of God, in both parts of
his manhood, male and female, and the female is the medium
through which all enter into manhood ; but as both parts of man
were defiled by sin, so that none could enter into manhood with-
out partaking of a sinful nature ; therefore, in cleansing and
purifying the female, the cleansing of the sanctuary was com-
pleted, and the veil of the flesh which shuts souls from the
heavenly order was taken away; thus was the way into the
holiest of all fully made manifest, where God promised to dwell
for ever.
23. Here began the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and thus
the cleansed sanctuary of the saints was manifested, and the
temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his testi-
mony ?vas seen, and made accessible to man. And, from this
time the lightnings of truth have been increasing in the world,
and the voices from the powers above have been more and more
heard, awakening souls to a sense of the oppressive and corrupt
state of all the systems of men, and calling them to reform and
come out from among them.
24. And, the " thunderings " of Divine power, and the " earth- Rev. xi. ip.
454 INCREASING WORK OF B. VIII.
CHAP.
XIV.
quakes" of his judgments have been rolling through the earth,
shaking and breaking in pieces the great image in all its
branches, and will contine to increase, until all these prophecies
are fulfilled.
25. Hence the promises so universally allude to the purging
away of sin and uncleanness, rooting out and destroying that
which is evil in human nature, and implanting, promoting, and
building up that which is virtuous, holy, and good. As the
whole law is fulfilled in one word, namely, in obedience; so all
the promises of God are contained in one word, namely, in
righteousness.
isa. i. 25, 26. And hence such plain promises as the following: "I will
26- turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross;
afterwards thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, The
chap. vi. 13. faithful city. As a teil-tree, and as an oak, whose substance is
in them, when they cast their leaves ; so the holy seed shall be
Joel, iii. 17. the substance thereof. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and
Zech. viii. there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And Jeru-
3. salem, shall be called a city of truth ; and the Mountain of the
Lord of hosts, the Holy mountain.''''
27. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the
&a\r-h 4' mountain [or foundation] of the Lord's house shall be established
1-4. ' in the top of the" mountains, [that is, above the power and light
of every other building,] and it shall be exalted above the hills;
and people shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
28. "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall work
Tran?11'8 conv^cz^on in many peoples;* and they shall beat their swords
tion. into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more. But they shall sit eveiy man under his vine,
and under his fig tree: and none shall make them afraid."
Ezek. xiiii. 29. And — DC^ " This is the law of the house; Upon the top
of the mountain, the ichole limit thereof round about shall be
most holy. And the name of the city from that day shall be,
^^'35 ^HE -k°RD IS THERE- The glory of Lebanon shall come unto
thee ; to beautify the place of my sanctuary ; and all they that
despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet ;
isa.ix. 13, and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the
14,18,21 Holy One of Israel."
30. " Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor
destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls
salvation, and thy gates praise. Thy people also shall be all
righteous ; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my
B. VIII. Christ's kingdom. 455
planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. That c^^'
they might be called Trees of righteousness, The planting of the
Lord, that he might be glorified." Isa- ui- 6-
31. All these and such like promises, are expressly to the
Church and people of God, in this latter day. If true believers
are called a city, it is because they are joined and compacted
together by the spirit of union and order ; if they are called
Jerusalem, it is because the name is expressive of peace ; if they
are called Mount Zion, which signifies high and clean, it is be-
cause they are raised above the low and base corruptions of
human nature ; and if they are called Trees of righteousness, it
is because they are fruitful in every good work.
32. In a word, all the prophecies were descriptive of that
state of purity and holiness, justice and righteousness, in which
God would meet and dwell with his people forever ; according
to what was revealed last of all to Saint Join. "And I saw a Rev.xxi.
new heaven and a new earth, wherein (according to Saint Peter) 2~pet «
dwelleth righteousness. And I John saw the holy city, new 13.
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men.''''
33. "For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath 2Cor. vi.
said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their 14-
God, and they shall be my people. And I saw no temple there-
in : for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of Rev._xxi.
it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a
lie ; but they which are written in the book of the life of the
Lamb."
34. "And he shewed me a pure river of the water of life, clear Rev. xxii.
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the
Lamb : " That is, purity of life, or true righteousness, flowing
from the throne of God to and through the saints. For, Prov. xi.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. And out of his Jo'hn. vii-
belly shall flow rivers of living water. 38-
35. "And on either side of the river, (he shewed me) the tree Rev. xxii.
of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit 2-
every month." Thus the river was represented as flowing
between two trees, which were of one nature, and typified the
same two as the two olive trees in the vision of Zechariah.
36. But here the matter is more full and plain; and that
which was represented by the golden oil, is here a river of the
water of life, having two sides, relating to male and female and
their respective tree of life on each side; and that covenant by
which both man and woman live the life of the Lamb, is here
represented as established between them both ; so that eternal
life is no where to be found but in that covenant and corresnon-
456
INCREASING WORK OF
B. VIII.
CHAP.
XIV.
Rev. xxii.
3.
Ezekiel,
xlvii 7.
Isa. lx. 22.
chap. liv. 1,
5, 13, 14.
dent union which flows between the two; which is like a river
for multitude, made up of many drops ; for power, which cannot
be stopped in its course ; and for perpetual motion, which flows
day and night.
37. And there shall be no more curse. By the disobedience
of woman in and through the work of generation, the curse
entered; and so by her obedience to the cross of Christ, the
antetype of the circumcising knife, which cuts her off from the
work of generation, with all its uses and abuses, it is, and only
can be, finally taken away ; and she become a tree of life, on her
corresponding side of the river of life, answerable to the life of
Jesus. The same was also signified to the Prophet Ezekiel, in
his vision of the holy waters, with an increase of very many
t?ees on the one side and on the other; which is according to the
promise of God, A little one shall become a thousand, and a
small one a strong nation: I the Lord, will hasten it in his
time.
38.
bear;
Mat. xxiv.
19.
Jer. xxxi.
8,9.
Luke,
xxiii. 29.
Jer. xxxi.
12, 13.
* Lowth's
Transla-
tion of Isa.
lxv. 20.
Psal. xxii.
29-31 . &
chap,
lxxxvii.
Therefore it is written, "Sing, 0 barren, thou didst not
break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou didst not
travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate, than
the children of the married wife, saith the Lord — For thy Maker
is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy
Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel ; the God of the whole earth,
shall he be called. And all thy children shall be taught of the
Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righte-
ousness shalt thou be established ; thou shalt be far from oppres-
sion."
39. But, "Wo unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck in those days ! They shall come with weeping,
and with supplications will I lead them : They shall say, Blessed
are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps
which never gave suck. Therefore they shall come and sing in
the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the
Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of
the flock and of the herd ; and their soul shall be as a watered
garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all."
40. " Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young
men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy,
and will comfort them, and make them to rejoice from their
sorrow. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, neither
shall they generate a short lived race.* This evidently alluded
to a spiritual generation, and a spirit work, both in this and the
spirit world.
41. But I say, did not, Israel know! Did they not understand
when such prophecies had gone forth into all the earth, and the
words of the Prophet unto the ends of the world? Nay, verily
the sound they heard, but the sense they wholly mistook : for they
B. VIII. Christ's kingdom. 457
were united to the first Adam, and multiplied after the covenant ^J^
of the flesh.
42. Therefore "Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy R0m.x. 18
by them that are no people, and by a foolish, nation I will anger 39-
you." And such is the Church of Christ in the present day,
who claim no relation to the works of the flesh ; they are there-
fore counted as no people, among the peoples and kindreds of
the earth. A foolish nation; that is, a nation not founded on,
or supported by human science or learning : for Cod hath made
foolish the wisdom of this world, since it has pleased him, by the
foolishness of preaching Christ crucified, to save them that believe. 23.
43. Where there is no sin, there is no curse ; and where there
is no curse, there is no need of any altar, atoning sacrifice, or
temple service ; and therefore the Lord God Almighy and the
Lamb appeared as the only temple of the New Jerusalem : which
leaves no place for making atonement for the uncleanness of man
or woman. "But the throne of Cod and of the Lamb shall be
in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his Rev xxii.
face, and have his name in their foreheads." 3>4-
44. The servants of G-od are sealed unto the day of redemp-
tion. "And I heard the number of them that were sealed — an
hundred and forty and four thousand ; " the same number as those Chap. vji.4-
with the Lamb upon Mount Zion. But the frrst number were and siv- 1-
those who were sealed by their faithfulness in the first appearance
of the Lamb, and reserved from the judgments which were sent
upon the earth, after they were all sealed. s_ev 'vu'
45. The first mission of Christ, was to the remnant of Israel;
hence, the faithful in that day, were numbered as the tribes of
Israel, and were sealed unto the day of redemption ; thus are
they united with the virgin followers of the Lamb, in his. final
appearance on Mount Zion. Rev.xiv. i.
46. As the female is the mother, or bringer forth of all living
into life; so all such prophecies pointed, for their accomplish-
ment, to the appearing of Christ in the female. In the light of
Christ's first appearing, his followers could suffer and be in pain ;
but it could be only in his second appearing that any could live
and reign with him on earth.
47. Hence said the Prophet, "Like as a woman with child,
that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth Isa. ^Yl
out in her pangs ; so have we been in thy sight, 0 Lord. We 17> 18> 19-
have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were
brought forth wind ; we have not wrought any deliverance in the
earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen" by the
truth.
48. And so it continued, through all generations, until the
present appearing of Christ; in which it follows, that as the
inhabitants of the old creation fall ; so those of the new arise.
30
458
INCREASING WORK OF, &C.
B. VIII.
CHAP.
XIV.
Rev. xx. 4.
2 Pet. iii. 8.
Rev. xx. 5.
P*a. 1. 4, 5.
See Ezek.
xxxviii &
xxxix.
Hag. ii. 6,
7, 22.
Zech.xii.4
Therefore it was said, "Thy dead men shall live, together with
my dead body shall they arise. And they lived, and reigned
with Christ a thousand years;" which is the year of the re-
deemed, or "the great day of God Almighty."
49. Christ in this day, is the author of eternal salvation to all
them that obey him; they are quickened together with Christ,
live as he lived, and reign over all that he reigned over. "But
the rest of the dead lived not together until the thousand years
were finished."
50. Thus, while the people of God are brought forth and
united in the life of Christ, the disobedient and gain-saying are
more than ever divided, and will never find any thing into which
they can gather and unite until the day of redemption and sepa-
ration is over.
51. Therefore the psalmist, speaking of the second appearing
of Christ, says, "He shall call to the heavens above, and to the
earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together
unto me : those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness." The saints
are first gathered to Christ in a covenant ; and by thus becoming
the habitation of God, the new heavens wherein dwelleth righte-
ousness, they declare his righteousness.
52. And as the true and faithful are gathered unto Christ, in
the covenant of righteousness and peace, by the testimony of
unchangeable truth, which was designated by thel voice of the
archangel and the last trump of God ; so, during the voice of this
trumpet, and the gathering of the saints, the devil and Satan is
bound, that he cannot deceive the nations with any established
system of false religion, as he has done under the reign of anti-
christ. He can furnish nothing to imitate the truth, as a pre-
tended revelation from God, sufficient to influence the nations, or
unite them to one common head.
53. But when the year of the redeemed is finished, and the
elect, or those who believe and obey the truth, are gathered of
all nations ; then shall the wicked also be gathered, according to
those figures and prophecies which respect their final doom : this
however, is not the work of the present day.
54. But while the new heavens are building up, the old are
dissolving, according to all that the Prophets have spoken, par-
ticularly the Prophet Haggai, " I will shake the heavens, and the
earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all
nations. And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I
will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathens ; and I
will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them ; and the
horses and their riders [i.e. all political and ecclesiastical institu-
tions and their supporters,] shall come down, every one by the
sword of his brother."
B. VIII. A CALCULATION OF PROPHECIES. 459
55. This prophecy , with others of the like nature, has evidently chap.
been fulfilling ever since the present order of the Church was - .
established, in the year 1792, by the increasing commotions and
revolutions among the nations of the earth; which afford the
strongest evidence that peace will never be restored to the earth,
until every purpose of God, towards the fallen race of man, be
fully executed.
56. The dissolution of the kingdom of antichrist, was also
signified by all the threatnings against old Jerusalem for her
abominations, and was particularly signed out by the destruction
of that corrupt city, by the army of Titus Vespasian, so that not Mat. xxiv.
one stone of their temple was left upon another, according to the
words of Christ.
57. And as the seat of that corrupt religion which stood in
opposition to Christ in his first appearing, wasted away, by slow
degrees, through their own divisions, and the superior power of
a foreign people ; so in the second appearing of Christ, that
which lets or hinders the progress of his work, will be taken out
of the way by a similar overthrow.
58. Therefore, let them which be in Judea, flee unto the
mountain of the Lord's house. And Blessed are they that do Rev. xxii.
his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, 14'
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
CHAPTER XV.
A SHORT CALCULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL PROPHECIES
RELATING TO THE LATTER DAT.
As the time for the fulfilment of the prophecies respecting the
latter day, or Christ's second appearing, was not to be known, nor
the manner of it understood, until the event itself should declare
it ; and as those prophecies were given by the Spirit of inspira-
tion, and can be properly understood only by the same ; there-
fore, when the revelation of God is given, and the events have
taken place, there the prophecies may be rightly calculated and
truly understood, by those who are in the event itself, so far as
the things are revealed and made known, and no further.
2. And as the time fixed in many of the principal prophecies,
460
A CALCULATION OF PROPHECIES.
B. VIII.
CHAP.
XV.
Dan. xii. 7.
vu. 21-25.
viii. 11, 12,
13, & xi.
31.
Mat. xxiv.
15, & Rev.
xi. 2, 3, &
xii. 6.
Dan. viii.
14. & xii.
11, 12.
t See Mar-
ginal Bible.
is certainly run out, and the principal events, as to their com-
mencement, have taken place ; therefore the events are certainly
known, by those who are in the Spirit of their fulfilment, at this
present day.
3. The prophecies of Daniel include the time, and principal
events, of all the other prophecies, which in their order, were to
be fulfilled at three different periods as follows: For a lime,
times, and an half, he shall have accomplished to scatter the
power of the holy people: That is, three years and a half, which
contain forty and two months, or at least 1260 days, a day for a
year, the same period that the woman continued in the wilder-
ness. This was foretold to be the particular period of antichrist's
dominion, in which the witnesses prophesied in sackcloth.
4. The second period is, Unto two thousand and three hun-
dred days ; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. And from the
time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken aivay, (which is at the
commencement of the 1260 days) and the abomination of desola-
tion set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety
days. These two, in their expiration, refer to one and the same
period. Then follows the third, Blessed is he that waileth, and
cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
5. As all the different periods have expired, and the principal
events, to which all the three prophecies allude, have taken
place, as they arose in the order of times; it is therefore proper
to state those numbers in order, as they arose, with their several
accomplishments ; by which both the commencement and expira-
tion of the most noted periods may be easily understood.*
6. The 2300 years include the reign of antichrist, as at the
end of that period the sanctuary was to be cleansed ; and there-
fore, by taking from that number, the 553 years before Christ,
at which time the prophecy was given,! we have the period
alluded to in the Christian era, 1747, at which time the present
work of God began in England.
7. From the setting up of the abomination of desolation, there
was to be 1290 years, which period must also expire at the clean-
sing of the sanctuary; and therefore by taking 1290, from 1747,
we have the time in which the reign of antichrist began, namely,
* In 2300 clays, or years, the sanctuary was to be cleansed.
553 years before Christ this prophecy was given.
1747 the ministry of James Weirdly commenced.
1290 years of desolation.
457 the abomination of desolation set up under Leo I.
1335 years of waiting for the fullness of the promises.
1792 the Church established in Gospel order.
1747
45 years of gradual increase from 1747 to 1792.
B, VIII. A CALCULATION OF PROPHECIES. 461
CHAP.
XV.
in the year 457, under Leo I. (commonly called Leo the Great,)
bishop of Rome, at the death of the emperor Marcianus ; as has
been circumstantially stated.*
8. The reign of antichrist was to continue 1260 years, which See book
being added to 457, brings that period down to the year 1717; chaP-i-
but as there was a gradual preparation in civil government, be-
fore the time of the prophecy (alluding to the beginning of anti-
christ's reign,) commenced; so there was also a gradual prepara-
tion in the same, by which his kingdom was weakened.
9. For several centuries, a series of the most bloody and dis-
astrous wars were carried on, between the Turks, and the powers
of the "Christian world,'" in which the Turks, by their power,
threatened to devour all Europe. But, near the close of the
seventeenth century-, the Turks were stopped in their progress,
and their power was brought to a stand, and has never advanced
since. These wars have been the main support of the tyrannical
and persecuting power of the professed Christian rulers.
10. The people were made to believe that it was necessary to
sacrifice their own rights, and submit to the exactions of their
governments, in order to defend Christendom from being over-
thrown by the infidel Mohammedans. But, when Christian
Europe (so called) became relieved from this general fear, from
that time many liberal minded men began seriously to investi-
gate " the rights of man" and more and more light was displayed
on the subject of freedom. So that the rights of man, and the
liberty of conscience, continued to gain ground, and the tyran-
nical power of the governments to grow weaker, from that period
to the present.
11. Liberty of conscience, a deadly wound to antichrist, was
in part established by William III, prince of Orange, in the
year 1689; which gradually increased till about the year 1717.
Near this time, Peter the Great, of Russia, established liberty of History of
• , • . \ • , , . , J .. Peter the
conscience m his vast empire, which was a great incentive to its Great,
progressive increase in the world. His final edict, which com-
pleted what he had been several years in preparing, was dated
January, 1720. Hence, about this time, the kingdom of anti-
christ was sufficiently weakened to establish the above period,
answerable to the prophecy.
12. But as the fullness of time was not yet come for the cleans-
ing of the sanctuary, the rising of the holy people, and the
setting up of the kingdom of Christ ; therefore, in another pro-
phecy, 30 years more are added to the 1260, which brings the
1290 years to the year 1747.
13. By this time, in the order of Providence, the principles of
* There may possibly be an error of a few years, in the period of those dates,
but that would not alter the substance of these calculations, nor their length of
time.
462 A CALCULATION OP PROPHECIES. B. VIII.
chap, freedom and the rights of conscience, were so far established as
'. — to weaken the powers of persecution in the kingdom of antichrist,
and make room for the present work and testimony of God ; in
which was expressly fulfilled that prophecy, The earth helped the
16. woman.
14. Then as the true order of the primitive Church was wholly
lost, and the great apostacy established as early as the year 457 ;
therefore the 1335 years of waiting, and coming unto the days
of blessedness, commenced at that period, and expired in the
year 1792, by which time the Church was established in its pre-
sent order, as the antetype of the second temple, to which the
Hag. ii. 7. desire of all nations was to come.
15. So that the expiration of the 1335 years, or year 1792,
was the period for the fulfilment of that prophecy, and the com-
mencement of all the blessedness, spoken of by all the Prophets;
and beyond this, no given period of prophecy extends, as thence-
forward unto the end, in conformity to the beginning, all things
will be fulfilled, pertaining to the salvation of mankind, and all
the glory and blessedness of the latter day.
Acts, i. 22. 16. The work of Christ in his first appearing, is considered as
3ih33 '' 26' beginning from the baptism of John, until by his ministry, the
way was prepared in the people, and one was found standing
among them, whom neither John, nor the people had before
known. So the second appearing of Christ is considered as
beginning from the preparatory work in the people, under the
ministration of James mid Jane Wardleij, from about the year
1747, and onward, until the Mother was baptized among them,
and received the Holy Spirit, by which she was anointed, and
sent forth of God, to bear her testimony to a lost world.
17. And therefore, by taking 1747 from 1792, there are 45
years of gradual increase, from the commencement of the pre-
sent work of God in England, until the building and establish-
ment of the Church in America; within this period all the
transactions occured, relating to Mother Ann, and the work under
her ministry, as they are circumstantially stated in the appendix.
18. For although the 2300 years, for the time of cleansing the
sanctuary, expired in the year 1747; yet as the work was of a
gradual nature, it could not be completed at once. Therefore
the real blessedness, which was to flow from it, was not dated at
the period when it began, but 45 years later, when the work of
cleansing and purifying was to be in such a manner completed,
that the way into the Holiest of all should be made manifest.
19. And therefore it was said, Blessed is he that waiteth and
cometh to the thousand three hundred and jive and thirty days:
which evidently expired about the year 1792, when the Church was
established in the present order of the Gospel.
20. Much time has been spent in calculating the foregoing
B. VIII.
A CALCULATION OP PROPHECIES.
463
prophecies, under the dark night of apostacy, particularly in the
latter ages, by the learned and wise men of this world; but as
men cannot see to read in the dark, and none of the wicked were
to understand ; therefore the events could not be seen, nor the
manner of their fulfilment searched out, until it was revealed by
the light of Christ, at his second appearing, and even then only
by those who received him, and who were ready and watching at
the time appointed.
21. The most favored Prophet could not read his own pro-
phetic numbers. Go thy way, Daniel: (said the angel,) for the
words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end — thou
shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. (i.e. in
the real and final work of his order.) Nor were the curious in-
quiries of the disciples to be answered, in regard to the times and
seasons, which the Father had put in his own power.
22. The present work of Cod must always be seen in and by
its present light ; not through the telescopes of human wisdom,
nor by the treasures of human knowledge, which the wise and
prudent of this world have treasured up to themselves; nor
according to the conceptions of the proud and lofty.
23. They may discern the face of the sky ; but they will never
know the signs of the times, until they come down to Christ
where he is manifested, according to his own counsel : Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and, lowly in
heart ; and ye shall find rest to your souls.
24. The learned scribes and Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses,
in whom they trusted ; but these hypocrites clearly manifested
that they regarded neither Moses, nor the Messiah of whom he
wrote ; for they disbelieved the former, and totally rejected the
latter. Had ye believed Moses, said Jesus, ye would have
believed me ; for he wrote of me.
25. They professed great veneration for the ancient Prophets,
by garnishing the sepulchres of those whom their fathers had
killed, and saying, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we
would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the
Prophets; while they themselves, denied the holy one, and the
just, of whom they were the betrayers and murderers ; and by
so doing they made a jest of the oracles of the Prophets, tram-
pled upon their prophecies, and denied both the time and manner
of their fulfilment.
26. It was the manner of Jesus to teach in the synagogues of
the Jews on the sabbath days. On one of these occasions, in
his own country, where he had been brought up, he read the
words of the Prophet Isaiah : The Spirit of the Lord (God) is upon
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the
poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,
CHAP.
xv.
Dan. xii.
10.
Mat. xxiv.
42.
Dan. xii. 9-
13.
Acts, i. 7.
Mat. xi. 29.
John, v. 46.
Mat. xxiii.
29, 30.
Acts, lii.
14, vii. 51,
52.
See
Josephus.
Luke, iv.
16-29.
464 A CALCULATION OF PROPHECIES. B. VIII.
chap, to set at liberty them that are bruised; to preach the acceptable
' year of the Lord.
27. In that day, and at that time, was this scripture fulfilled
in their ears. So testified Jesus. But who, of all those of the
synagogue, believed that this scripture was fulfilled in him? Or
who of them believed that this was the acceptable year of the
Lord, and that God had anointed and sent him to proclaim it ?
Not one.
28. They scorned to stoop so low as to acknowledge such a
mean character, to their sense, whom they so well knew as the
son of a carpenter, brought up among them, and with whose
kindred and parentage they were so well acquainted, instead of
that extraordinary personage whom they expected to come in
Mat xiii great power and splendor as the Messiah. Whence, say they,
54,55. hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this
the carpenter's so?i? And they were offended at him.
29. But Jesus said, " Ye will surely say unto me this proverb,
Physician heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in
Capernaum, do also here in thy own country.''' But he testified
to them of a truth, that many widows were in Israel, in the days
of Elias, when there was a great famine throughout the land ;
but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto a widow of
Sidon; and that many lepers were in Israel, in the time of
Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman, the
Syrian. And the true reason why their widows were not visited,
nor their lepers cleansed, was, that they were a stiff-necked and
gainsaying generation, who killed the Prophets, and stoned those
who were sent unto them.
80. But what effect had the truth on the descendants of those
unbelievers? Truly, the same effect that it had on their stiff-
Acts, vii. necked and rebellious forefathers — they always resisted the Holy
Spirit : as their fathers did, so did they : For all they of the
synagogue, when they heard the truth, were filled with wrath,
and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the
brow of the hill, that they might cast him down head-long.
31. This was the manner in which the Saviour of mankind was
treated in his first appearing ; and there never was a time since
man fell from his first rectitude to the present day, that the work
of God was not objected against, and the testimony of his wit-
nesses rejected by all hypocrites and unbelievers.
32. But the objectors and gainsayers of the present day,
would flatter themselves that they are not unbelievers, and that,
if they had been in the time, and enjoyed the privilege of those
wicked Jews who denied Christ, they would not have been par-
takers with them in their evil deeds ; while there never were any
gainsayers to the work of God, in any dispensation of his grace,
but what were of that perverse and gainsaying generation,
B. VIII. A CALCULATION OF PROPHECIES. 465
who do always resist the Holy Spirit, by their objections and c^p-
cavils. ■ ■ —
33. The unbelieving Jews were always ready to charge Jesus ££ts> vu-
of Nazareth with great pride and presumption, in applying to him-
self, and to the time then present, the title and dignity of the
Messiah, and the fulfilment of that superior power and authority
of his mission, spoken of by the Prophets.
34. They objected against him on every side. They objected,
" We know this man, whence he is : but when Christ comet h, no John, vii.
man knoweth whence he is. Search and look: for out of 27>52-
Galilee ariseth no Prophet." He had not only broken the sab- chap. v. 18.
bath, but said also, that God was his Father, making himself
equal with God. Art thou greater than our father Abraham? viii.53.
said they ; whom makest thou thyself? For a good work we * 33.
stone thee not ; but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being
a man, makest thyself God.
35. Thus those gainsayers denied not only the person whom
God anointed, but also denied his mission, together with the time,
and place, and manner of his appearing. And while they spent
their time in objecting and cavilling against the propriety of
Christ's testimony, aiming to prove that this was not the appear-
ance of the Saviour whom the Prophets had pointed out, they
wasted the day of their visitation, and only proved that they were
yet servants to sin; and that it was their choice and intention to
continue such, under the hypocritical mask of professing to
believe in Abraham, and Moses, and the Prophets.
36. In the same situation, and actuated by the same gain-
saying spirit, are those who, at this day, would labor to prove, See Hag i.
that the day of the Lord is not yet come, and that Christ has not jjj*24. '
made his second appearing, but all things continue as they were ;
because they have not allotted for themselves, that the purpose
of God should be accomplished in this their day, but in some
future day; nor have they prepared their hearts to believe that
the manner of God's work would be contrary to all the plans
devised by their human wisdom.
37. And therefore, while they labor to prove that the time is
not yet come for Christ to set up his kingdom on earth, they only
eventually prove, that they are still under the dominion of
antichrist, that they are the willing subjects of his kingdom,
and are the scoffers of the latter days, of whom the Scriptures 2 Pet. ui. 3.
have testified.
38. And while they profess to believe in Christ, and in the
time and manner of his first appearing, but deny this day, and
reject both the time and manner of his second appearing, they
evidently speak lies in hypocrisy. For had they believed in
Christ's first appearing, they would believe in his second : for he
testified of it. And had they believed in the Prophets, they
466
A CALCULATION OF PROPHECIES.
B. VIII.
Psa. xxv.
14.
°xvP would believe in the fulfilment of their prophecies : for they have
! — all prophesied and written of this day.
39. The words of the prophecies were closed lip and sealed till
the time of the end. At the time of the end the seals were to
be taken off, and the time and events were to be known by those
who should then be in them. But it never was the purpose
of God to reveal these things to the wise and prudent of this
world, for if these had been revealed to such, they would have
abused and perverted them ; but they are revealed to such only
as are candid and honest hearted before God, and are willing to
stoop down to the times and terms of his own appointment : for,
The secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him ; and he
will shcv) them his covenant.
Mat.xi. 25. 40. Hence said the meek and lowly Jesus, I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes. Even so. Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
41. And however humiliating and debasing to the pride of
fallen man, the purposes of God may prove ; yet they are un-
changeable and will stand; and in their appointed times and
seasons, will accomplish all that whereunto they are purposed,
and none can disannul or hinder it.
42. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord
have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have
dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish ;
I the Lord have spoken and have done it.
Eze. xvii.
24.
Isa. liv. i,
& lvi. 3, 4
THE TESTIMONY
OF
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
-» > » i ♦-
BOOK IX.— Part I.
THE ORDER OF DEITY, AND THE CORRESPONDING ORDER
OF CHRIST, REVEALED.
CHAPTER I.
THE REVELATION OF THE ETERNAL AND DIVINE SPIRIT.
God, ia the eternal unity — the Creator of the heavens and earth, chap. i.
"and all the hosts of them," — the supreme Spirit and Intelli-
gence ; the original Prototype of all intelligent formations in their Gen. i. 26--
creations ; for these are declared to be the express image of this ^.
eternal unity. The existence of a supreme Creator is shown by 11,23.
the creation. Of all the visible works of creation, man is the Hebl-3-
superior. He alone is able to use all natural elements to sub-
serve his purposes, and to conquer and govern all other creatures.
Yet many other animals are superior to him in size and physical
strength ; but his superior power arises from his rational intelli-
gence, which is invisible, and only known by its effects.
2. But man, with all his superior powers, cannot originate a
single atom of the material world. And hence it is evident that
man did not create himself, nor was it ever in his power to
originate that intelligence which makes him superior to all other
visible beings. Therefore, man's intelligence must be derivative ;
and, as no derivative can equal the original, his intelligent
power must be derived from a superior intelligent power. Hence,
as the intelligence of man is invisible, it is conclusive that the
intelligence from which it is derived is invisible.
3. From these premises, it is evident that man is the only
real representative of the supreme Intelligence in the visible
world. Therefore, as man is an organized being, (otherwise he
468
THE REVELATION OF THE
B. IX.
CHAP. I.
John,
17.
Gen. xxx.
53.
Exod iii.
14, 15.
Exod vi. S.
Luke, x.
22
could not be the repository of intelligence) it is self evident that
the source from whence this organization is derived, is a supreme
organization, from whence are derived all organizations in his
creation. This is what we call God, or Deity. But the spiritual
element, power, and intelligence of this supreme Being, extend to
infinity. In this manner C-od works by agencies, and thus his
name is in them, which is clearly set forth in Exodus, xxiii. 20,
22, and other places.
4. The male and female order of this creative and superintend-
ing Deity, is clearly seen by all the works, which proceed from
eternal Power and Wisdom. For all the existences in the crea-
tion, came forth and are propagated in the order of male and
female. Hence, it is impossible that this universal order should
have been derived from any other source than the supreme crea-
tive Intelligence.
5. The manifestation of this order is not derived from the
Scriptures, but from the works of creation; nevertheless, the
Scriptures are a true and faithful witness of its reality. There-
fore a few Scripture revelations are here stated, to show their
harmony with the manifest works of God ; and, on succeeding
pages of this work will be found, still more full and explicit
statements and evidences on this interesting and important
subject.
6. Jehovah, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
was known unto the Patriarchs as the God of Abraham, and the
Grod of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ; and therefore as Jacob
abode in the fear of his father, he could swear by none greater
than by the fear of his father Isaac. But as pertaining to
spiritual children, except in a comparative sense, or by promise,
God was never known by the true attribute of Father until the
Son revealed him.
7. Unto Moses the Lord declared saying, "Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you —
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob —
This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all gene-
rations." Therefore until the genealogies of generations ceased,
in the work of regeneration by Christ, none of the true attributes
of Jehovah were ever fully known.
8. Hence God said unto Moses, " I appeared unto Abraham,
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty;
but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them."
Whatever names or attributes were applied to God before Christ
appeared, they were only significant of the substance, which
never was really known until the Father was revealed by the Son.
9. Hence said Jesus Christ, "No man knoweth who the Son
is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he
to whom the Son will reveal him. No man hath seen God at
B. IX. ETERNAL SPIRIT. 469
any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the chap. L
Father, he hath declared him." john j. i8.
10. Therefore the true attribute of Father, in Deity, was
never known until it was revealed by the Son; and as the
mystery of iniquity was only in part revealed by the Son ; so
only in part could the mystery of God be by him revealed in that
day.
11. But it has been promised that in the days of the voice of
the seventh angel, when he should begin to sound, the mystery
of God should be finished ; because then should that wicked be Rev %. 7.
revealed, and taken fully out of the way, and consumed by the 2 ™cs' a'
Spirit of the Lord's mouth, and destroyed by the brightness of
his coming.
12. Every thing must have a beginning before it can be
finished. Hence the mystery of God began to be revealed in the
days of Christ's first appearing, and will be finished in his second.
When the Father was revealed in and by the Son, in whom dwelt i Tim Hi.
the fulness of the manifestation of Deity, it was a great mystery, col. ii.. 2.
Great is the mystery of Godliness, God manifested in the flesh.
The mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.
13. God was named by the name of JEHOVAH, and owned
as the Creator of all things, for ages before the name of Father
was named ; but the true attributes of JEHOVAH, which imply
the full perfections of the deity, the first and the last, began first
of all to be made known by promise. Thus the Prophet Isaiah, isa be. 6.
Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: his name shall
be called, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. That is, the everlasting Father of the new
creation, and the supreme manifestation of God therein.
14. This particularly alluded to Christ Jesus ; and although
the Word states it in the present tense, yet there were in truth
and reality, no such attributes pertaining to God, whereby he was
actually revealed, until the Son was actually manifested through
Jesus ; but his name forever, and his memorial through all gene-
rations, was God Almighty, until the work of regeneration com-
menced, and the Father was actually revealed in and by the Son.
15. Christ Jesus had the Father dwelling in him, and had
received the holy anointing Spirit, and as he was sent into the
world; so he sent his disciples into the world; saying, "Go ye Mat.xxviii
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of 19' 20-
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
And as the Holy Spirit descended upon, and abode in Jesus, by Luke, ifl.
which he revealed the Father ; so the same was also given to his 22-
followers.
16. As Christ Jesus was the Son of God, the first born of
every creature in the new creation, and the first begotten of the
470
THE REVELATION OP THE
B. IX.
CHAP. I.
Rev. i. 5.
1 Cor. xv.
20.
James, i.
18.
Rev. xiv.
4.
Eze. xlvii.
12.
Rev. xxii.
2.
Rom. i. 20.
Isa xlviii.
1-8,
Jer. xvii. 9.
dead, and was therefore the " first fruits of them that slept ; " so
those who were, through hiru, begotten by the word of truth in
that day, were a kind of first fruits of his creatures, or crea-
tion, which was exhibited in the line of the male.
17. But when the vision of St. John came to be fulfilled, the
perfect first fruits unto God and the Lamb appeared, completed,
both in the order of the male and female ; which was included in
the vision of the holy waters, with very many trees on both sides
of the river, whose leaf (it was said) should not fade, neither
should the fruit thereof be consumed.
18. The invisible things of God from the creation of the world,
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
or created; even his eternal power and divinity. Therefore,
although many things, from the beginning of the visible creation,
were declared beforehand, and suddenly fulfilled in a figure ; yet
nothing was known of the Creator, in reality, until their actual
existence.
19. And although many things were seen, and spoken, and pro-
phesied of, concerning the divine perfections of JEHOVAH;
yet in reality and truth, those perfections could not be known,
until their actual accomplishment and revelation by Christ, in
the fulness of times, in his first and second appearing. For if
the fulness of the perfections of JEHOVAH had been revealed
in the days of Christ's first appearing, there would not have been
another day spoken of; and until the fulness of time, it was in
the mind of infinite wisdom to keep them concealed.
20. Hence God speaks by the Prophet Isaiah, "Hear ye this,
0 house of Jacob — which swear by the name of the Lord, and
make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in
righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and
stay themselves upon the God of Israel."
21. "I have declared the former things from the beginning —
1 shewed them ; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron
sinew, and thy broiv brass ; before it came to pass I shewed thee ;
lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them."
22. "I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hid-
den things, And thou didst not knoio them. • They are created
now, and not from the beginning — lest thou shouldest say,
Behold I knew them : for I knew that thou wouldest deal very
treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb."
23. And because the heart of fallen man is deceitful above all
things, and desperately toicked, and because he is a very treach-
erous dealer, and a transgressor from the womb ; therefore it is,
that the hidden things of God were not given unto man to know,
any faster than in the fulness of times, appointed in the order of
God's unchangeable purpose.
B. IX. ETERNAL SPIRIT. 471
24. Hence it was of greater benefit to mankind, that the time, CHAP L
place, and manner of Christ's second appearing should be totally
concealed from them, than the revelation of it would have been.
While such stiff-necked corrupters are endeavoring to limit the
Holy One, and corrupt every thing which comes within the com-
prehension of their blind senses, God suddenly, and unawares,
accomplishes his own purposes out of their sight, in such a man-
ner as their human wisdom can neither comprehend, nor their
power supplant.
25. As it is only by the things that are created now, and made
manifest in their present and actual existence, that the invisible
things of God can be truly known ; and as it was only in and by
the Son, in his manifest existence, that the Father was revealed
in Christ's first appearing ; therefore by the things which are
now created anew in Christ Jesus, and which truly exist in the
present day, the perfections of JEHOVAH are truly revealed,
made manifest, and certainly known.*
26. Before the substance was made known by the actual mani-
festation of the Son, in Christ's first appearing, the anointing
"power (which constituted Christ) dwelt in the eternal Word,
which was communicated to the Patriarchs and Prophets by the
ministry of angels ; so in the same manner was the Holy Spirit
given unto the Apostles and true witnesses, as a Spirit of pro-
mise, until the substance should be revealed by the Daughter, in
Christ's second appearing.
27. And as in the fulness of time the Spirit of God descended
and abode in the Son, in whom dwelt the fulness of the Deity,
pertaining to man's redemption, who thus came in the male
order, to reveal the Father; so also in the fulness of time, the
Holy Spirit, even the Daughter, descended and took up her abode
in that chosen female, in and by whom, united in a correspondent
relation to the Son, the perfection of order in the deity was made
known, and the mystery of God finished, pertaining to the founda-
tion of man's redemption.
28. It has been observed, that the universal law implanted in
nature in the first creation of man, has established the order and
relation for the increase of his posterity after the flesh, by a
* " God declared to Moses, that he was not known by the name of Jehovah,
[which is literally, a noun of the feminine gender,] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ;
and yet God is called by the name of Jehovah, in Gen. xv. 7; xxvi. 24. This is
not to be understood of the name, but of the thing signified by that name. For that
denotes all his perfections ; and among others, the constancy, and immutability of
his nature and will, and the infallible certainty of his word and promises. And,
though this was believed by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yet God had not given
any actual being to his promises, for their deliverance by the accomplishment of
them ; for they only saw the promises afar off. This expression may likewise be
understood comparatively ; they knew this but darkly and imperfectly, which was
now to be made known more clearly and fully." So says Cruden, Concordance, Art.
God.
472 THE REVELATION OF THE B. IX.
chap. I. mutual correspondence between two ; in which it invariably
descends from generation to generation, proceeding from the first
father and mother, the joint parentage of all the human race.
29. And no less is the law of the new creation established,
between two, for the increase of a spiritual posterity, by the
eternal and unchangeable purpose of JEHOVAH, according to
his divine and immutable perfections, which existed in his divine
essence before all worlds, which were kept secret through all
ages and generations ; but now are made known unto the saints
of the present day, for the full and final accomplishment of what-
ever God promised in Christ, by the mouth of all his Prophets,
since the world began.
30. The Father is first in the order of the new creation, and
the Mother is the second ; the glory, wisdom and perfection of the
Father. And in and by the Son and Daughter, or Christ mani-
fested in his first and second appearing, the Father and Mother
are both revealed and made known, through the mutual influence
of the eternal Word proceeding from both ; who are one in essence,
nature, and union, but two in their office and manner of operation.
31. Yet neither the attribute of Father nor Son, Mother nor
Daughter, existed from all eternity; but derived their existence
from the Creator, by those things which actually exist in the
order of the old and new creation, which is created by the eternal
Word, proceeding from an everlasting source ; as the river of the
waters of life proceeding from the sanctuary and throne of God
and the Lamb, and flowed between the tree of life on either side
of the river.
32. " From all eternity" is a term invented by blind guides,
and conveys no true idea at all in relation to the things of God
having neither beginning nor end. But everlasting, is that
which expresses the immutability of the Divine perfections, being
that which never dissolves, nor comes to an end. And hence,
beings created at any certain period, may be everlasting, because
proceeding, and coming forth from an everlasting substance.
33. It has been observed, that the attribute of Father depends
upon the existence of Son as much as the attribute of Son depends
upon the existence of Father. Therefore said the Prophet,
They are created now, and not from the beginning — lest thou
shouldst say, I knew them.
34. In the records of Truth, before the EVERLASTING
FATHER, we see JEHOVAH; and before JEHOVAH, we
see I AM ; and before I AM, we see GOD ; and before GOD, we
see the beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens
and the earth ; for without a beginning God could not be known
to exist, and therefore could not exist in relation to things that
Job.xi. 7. have a beginning. Canst thou by searching find out God? canst
thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
B. IX. ETERNAL SPIRIT. 473
35. At the beginning of the new creation, the Son of God chap. r.
©
declared that he was in the Father, and the Father in him ; and
to the Jews he said, No man hath ascended, up to heaven, but j0hn, xiv.
he that came doicn from heaven, even the So?i of man, which is *J> JJ}- x}-
(fe 111 1 * j
in heaven. This he said while on the earth, where the Father
was, necessarily to be revealed.
36. Moses had written the history of the natural creation from
the beginning, and not the history of the new creation ; but the
Evangelists wrote the history of the new creation, and not that
of the old, having been eye witnesses of the work of Christ Jesus Luke, i. 2.
from the beginning, and having received the Word, by which ^Heb^i.
the foundation of that world was laid, and by which they were z.
created anew in Christ Jesus, who was the beginning of that
creation.
37. "In the beginning was the Word, [of Revelation] and the
Word was God : the same Word was in the beginning with God. ^h"' '•
Every thing was * by him, and without him was not any thing made j> svs-
that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of T9
men." And the Word was revealed by Christ Jesus in the flesh, and existed or
dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the fo™gl11
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
38. That Word by which Jesus spoke, by which the ages were
set in order, and which Jesus testified should judge the world at
the last day, proceeded from the everlasting substance of the
Father, and Holy Wisdom; and hence the Father, the Word,
and Holy Wisdom are one, in essence, in nature, and in union
everlasting.
39. But does this imply "three persons, of one substance,
power, and eternity? " or that "The Son is eternally begotten
of the Father? " Or does it imply that the Son is " very and
eternal God, equal with the Father ? " No such thing. I can of John, v
mine own self do nothing, said Jesus : The word which ye hear ^ *'v 24'
is not mine, but the Father'' s which sent me; for my Father is
greater than I.
40. And does not nature and reason, as well as the whole
order of creation, witness, that he who begets must be before him
that is begotten ? and that the Father is therefore greater than the
Son ? and that the Son must have had a beginning ? How can the
Son be eternally begotten? If he is eternally begotten, then the
Father must be eternally begetting him, and consequently, of
eternal necessity, he must be eternally in the womb, and was
never brought forth, never came to the birth, nor ever can while
eternity endures.
41. But if the Father had a Son, he was certainly begotten;
and if begotten, then certainly brought forth; and as certainly
he had a beginning ; and that beginning was not all eternity;
but the operation of God at a certain period of time ; yet his
5.
474 REVELATION OP THE, &C. B. IX.
chap. I. descent was from everlasting, being begotten, conceived, and
johu, viii. brought forth from an everlasting source.
56. ' 42. Jesus Christ said to the Jews, " Your father Abraham re-
joiced to see my clay : and he saw it, and was glad." But how did
Abraham see his day ? Was it to him present, past, or future ?
The truth is, it was not to him real, but only by faith in the
promise, the fulfilment of which was yet future : for he looked
Heb.xi. io. for a city whose builder and maker is God: And what a man
Rom. viii ' seeth, why doth he yet hope and look for ?
24, -25. ^g Again said Christ Before Abraham was, I am. This
was strictly true. Hence said John the Baptist, the greatest
John, i. 27, of a11 tne Prophets, He it is, who coming after me, is preferred
so. ' ' before me— for he was before me.
44. Again, Christ prayed for the glory which he had with
the Father before the world was, saying, And now, O Father,
John, xvii. glorify thou me, with the glory which I had with thee,
5' before the world was. Agreeing with his word, " I proceeded
John viii forth, and came from God." To whom applied the words which
42- David spake by the Spirit of God, saying, "Thou art my Son,
this day have 1 begotten thee ; " also, " The Lord said unto my
Psa. ii. 7. Lord, sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
Ps. ex. l. footstool." This was spoken in the present tense, many ages
before Jesus came into the world.
45. David then prophecies, "The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion ; rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies." This rod, evidently alluded to Jesus, (agreeing with
many other prophecies,) "through whom all nations should be
overcome, and be brought to bow to the Son." From all which
it is manifest, that Christ existed as a Divine ministering Spirit in
l Cor. x. aii ages> But Was not manifested as the quickening spirit of the
l Pet. l.n, second Adam, until revealed in the man Jesus.
i'2Cor xv 46- Therefore, though Christ existed with the Father before
45. ° XV' the world was, yet, in" the order of times, in relation to man's
redemption he was not known among men before the first man
Adam who was of the earth "earthy," but long after. For, in
that order, that which is spiritual is not first, but that which is
l cor xv. natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual."
4G, 47.
B. IX. REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 475
CHAPTER II.
THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, THE BEGINNING OF
THE NEW CREATION OF GOD.
"There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body;" and chap. ii.
as there is a natural birth to the natural body, so there is a
spiritual birth to the spiritual body, which is produced by the
work of regeneration, and is called the new birth, or being born
again. Hence it is written, The first man Adam was made a i cor. xv.
living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. How- 4j"17-
beit, that was not first tvkich is spiritual, but that which is
natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
2. The living soul of the first man was a spiritual body, and
occupied the natural body of tlie first Adam, and constituted the
first natural man. The quickening spirit, the second man, the
Lord from heaven, who regenerated, and resurrected the spiritual
body (or soul) of Jesus, a lineal descendant of the first man,
(Adam) and constituted him the first spiritual man — a Son of
God — the first redeemed, and the anointed head of the human
race, the Father of all the children of the new creation. There-
fore, to as many as received Christ, the quickening Spirit,
through him to them, gave he power to become the sons of John, 1.12.
God.~
3. That natural body, or tabernacle, in which the Lord Jesus
dwelt, was visible to the human eye, like the natural bodies of
other men; but his spiritual body, in which Christ the Lord was 1 cor. xii.
revealed, who being invisible, was seen and known only by reve- 3-
lation to those who received his Word ; and no man could call
him Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
4. How greatly, then, are they mistaken, who suppose that
the virgin Mary was the true and real mother of Christ, the Son
of God; whereas, she was but the mother of the medium, or
vessel, through which Christ, the second Adam was revealed.
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifices Heb-X-5
and offerings, thou woulclest not, but a body hast thou prepared
for me."
5. Such as have considered Mary as the real Mother of Christ,
by falling into that mistake, have equally mistaken every thing
else concerning Christ. They have admitted that Mary was a
fallen creature, possessed of the same corrupt nature with other
women. And thus they have supposed that Christ was the off-
spring of a holy God and a sinful woman, and possessed the nature
of both God and man, in two distinct natures, having the nature
476 REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. B. IX.
chap. ii. 0f both his Father and mother, " united in one person, and that
without any change, mixture or confusion."
6. From this notion has arisen the inconsistent and absurd
doctrine, that good and evil are united in the children of God ;
that "the corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in
those that are regenerated." And consequently the first fol-
lowers of Christ were at least half-blooded sinners, and degen-
erated, from age to age, on the mother's side, until they could
scarcely tell whether they had any thing of God in them or not.
Daily transgressors, never able to keep the commandments of
God during the term of life ; when the pointed truth is, that,
l John, iii. Whosoever sinneth, hath neither seen Christ, nor knovm him.
7. It is evident, that in Christ Jesus was no sin, that he did
no evil, neither xoas guile found in his mouth; therefore it
follows, that he owned no part of the fallen sinful nature which
he derived from a natural woman in a fallen state. That fallen
nature, which he seceived through the medium of a woman,
he never owned as any part of Divine substance, but crucified it
unto the death.
8. And as Christ was manifested as being the full and perfect
Son of God, by the spirit and fruits of holiness produced in
o "the first born among many brethren;" therefore the above
29. opinion is founded upon a misunderstanding of the true lineage
of his holy Son, which was not partly Divine and partly human,
but fully and perfectly Divine in both parts of his Parentage.
But, as the Son came into the world to reveal the Father, there-
fore the mistake could never be rectified till the Mother was
revealed by the Daughter.
9. The Evangelists and others wrote according to the best of
their knowledge ; and hence there is such a diversity in their
writings at different periods respecting the genealogy of Jesus.
For seeing that Messiah was to come of the seed and lineage of
David, and knowing for certain that he had come; therefore
they gave his genealogy in that line, through Joseph and Mary,
as his supposed parents ; when at the same time, they all agree
that Joseph was not his real father, although he was his legal
Father ; for Joseph was legally espoused to Mary, of the family
See Mat. of David, before she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
*■ ia Of this family of David, Joseph then stood as the head direct
from the line of Solomon.
10. In accommodation to the blind prejudices of the Jewish
nation, the Apostles showed that Jesus came in the line of
Joseph and Mary, according to the flesh : but at the same time,
they prove that Christ Jesus did not come after the flesh at all.
2Cov.t. Though we have known Christ after the flesh, (says Paul,) yet
I5- now henceforth knoiv we him no more.
11. The common people made no distinction ; they say, Is not
B. IX. REVELATION OP JESUS CHRIST. 477
«
this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother tee lenovj? chap, h.
But Christ in Jesus, who knew all things from the beginning,
says, Ye judge after the flesh — Ye are from beneath; I am John, vi.
from above. I proceeded forth and came from God. The 15,23,42.
Evangelists, who wrote to the common people, speak of Joseph
and Mary as the supposed parents of Jesus. "Being (as was l**e,iii.
supposed) the son of Joseph."
12. "Nowfo's parents went to Jerusalem every year to the nud. ii 4s,
passover." But when they found him in the temple, with the 49-
doctors, hearing and asking them questions, "His mother said
unto him, Son, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing."
But Jesus gave them to understand that Joseph was no more
than his supposed father. " Wist ye not, (said he) that I must
be about my Father's business ? "
13. In the natural order of the work of God, both in the
Patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations, the progression was through
the medium of natural generation ; nearly or quite every increas-
ing degree, was brought forth by an agent, who, by Divine
influence, either generated in a good degree according to the
original law of nature, or was born by promise, up to the birth of
John the Baptist. And it was expressly said '■'■both his parents
were stricken hi years" which doubtless implies that they wer&
both past generating; hence, he was born by the power given
them by the angel. Here, nature, in the line of generation, had
arisen to its greatest perfection, and hence, John, was the highest
production of natural generation.
14. Therefore, when Jesus was born, who was to be the
medium of a new and spiritual creation, he was brought forth
without the generating agency of man. But the* generative
powers of nature were concentrated by supernatural influence in
a proper and chosen medium, and thus created him a complete
natural man.
15. Hence, he was the proper medium for a higher manifesta-
tion of Divine power and life in man, than could ever before have
been diffused into the world. This also showed, that the work of
natural generation had come to its height, that it must hence-
forth decrease, and the work of spiritual regeneration must in- Luke,
crease until it supplanted the former; even as John the Baptist, j6728 •
the highest offspring of natural generation said, "He," (Jesus) 30/ '
"must increase, but I must decrease."
16. Father and Son do not imply the perfection of that order in
which God created man at the beginning, and which is manifest
in the visible creation ; and much less can those attributes of
Father and Son imply the perfection of that order which was
essentially in the Deity, and was relatively signified by the order
in which God created man at the beginning, when it was said, God
created man in his oivn image — male and female created he them.
VI 1.
478 REVELATION OP JESUS CHRIST. B. IX.
chap. II. 17. And without this relative distinction in the order and per-
fection of the Deity, as the true first cause of man's existence,
the things that were created, could only in part, claim a relation
to the Creator, while a very important part must exist without
relation to any correspondent cause. For it will be granted, that
God is distinguished by the title of Father, in relation to man ;
and that man, in the perfection of his order, includes more than
Father.
18. The first man Adam was the first natural father of all
the human race ; but he was not alone, his manhood was made
complete by the woman, who was bone of his bone, and flesh of
his flesh, and they two were called Adam, being joiut agents of
that one body ; and the woman was called the mother of all
living.
19. And if the attribute of mother pertains to man, in the
perfection of his order, from whence could this attribute flow ?
or with what did it correspond ? If the attribute of Father and
Mother, in the creation of man, can flow from Father alone, the
effect is superior to its cause, and Mother must flow from where
Mother is not, and the female part of creation can know no cor-
responding cause of her existence.
20. But as father and mother, or male and female, do exist
in the creation of man, and are essential to the glory and per-
fection of that order, and are declared to have been created in
the image and after the likeness of God; therefore, if no such
relative distinction is admitted in the first cause of their exist-
ence, then it plainly follows, that the perfection and glory of the
creature is superior to that of the Creator. This is an inconsis-
tent and absurd supposition.
21. But the truth is, that as God created man male and female,
in his own image and likeness, and called their name Adam —
two in their order and manner of operation, but one in their
nature and union, constituting one entire man, perfect and com-
plete in the order of his manhood ; so man in his first creation, in
both parts of his manhood, relatively showed forth the order,
glory, and perfection which essentially constituted the First Cause,
and was a pattern of that order and perfection which was to be
revealed by Christ in the new creation.
22. But man, in his natural state, could never know the per-
fections of the invisible First Cause, until they were revealed in
the new creation, by Christ in his first and second appearing; in
which the Father is revealed by the Son, and the Mother by the
Daughter; and the true order and perfections of Jehovah are
made known by those things that are created, revealed, and
made manifest, in which Cod becomes all in all.
23. Therefore, by the first appearing of Christ, in and by the
anointed Son, was the revelation of Gfod, pertaining to the true
B. IX. REVELATION OP JESUS CHRIST. 479
order of the eternal Father, who was everlasting before all chap. n,
worlds ; and by the second appearing of Christ, in aud through
the anointed Daughter, is the revelation of Holy Wisdom, per-
taining to the true order of the eternal Mother, who was with Him g0rov-vm'
that is Everlasting.
24. As the name Almighty, expresses the substance, but not
the order of the Father ; so the name Wisdom, also expresses the
substance, but not the order of the Mother. And as the true
order and office of the Father was not known, until revealed by
the Son; so the true order and office of the Mother was not
known, until revealed by the Daughter.
25. And therefore, by whatever name Holy Wisdom was
called, under the dispensations which preceded her revelation,
She is unchangeably one with the Father, in union and essence,
and is distinguished by her co-operations, everlasting with the
Father, before ever the world was, or the ages set in order:
which is according to her own testimony of unchangeable truth,
under the title of Wisdom.
26. " She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her ; and Prov. iji.
happy is every one that retaineth her. The Lord by wisdom '
hath founded the earth ; by understanding hath he established
the heavens."
27. "She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in Chap. viii.
the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of
the city, at the coming in at the doors : Unto you, 0 men, I call,
and my voice is to the sons of man."
28. " I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge
of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil ; pride
and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I
hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom : I am understanding.
I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth."
29. "I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the
paths of judgment: that I may cause those that, love me to in-
herit substance : and I will fill their treasures. The Lord pos-
sessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the
earth was."
30. "When there were no depths, I was brought forth ; when
there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the
mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth;
while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the
highest part of the dust of the world."
4S0 ILLUSTRATION OF B. IX.
CHAPTER III.
AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PRODUCTION OF PRETERNATURAL
BIRTHS — THAT IS, BIRTHS, BY DIRECTION OF SUPERNA-
TURAL AGENCY, OR THOSE IN THE CHOSEN LINE OF
PROMISE.
SECTION I.
chap ill. The supernatural conception and birth of Jesus, who called
himself both the So?i of man, and the So7i of God, has been a
subject of doubt and dispute in greater or less degrees, as to the
matter or manner, among Christian professors and others, for
many ages. Therefore, to set forth the light of reason, and re-
velation upon this important subject, to render the doctrine more
clear and intelligible to the rational and candid mind, is the de-
sign of this chapter.
2. The objections appear to be, that the supernatural forma-
tion of Jesus, without the co-operation of man, must be contrary
to the principles or laws which the Creator has implanted in na-
ture ; and that the Author of nature would not thus contravene
his own laws and order of production. Therefore, it is inconsist-
ent to believe this tenet.
3. But it must be admitted by every reasonable mind, that
the Author of nature is superior to nature, and that in its highest
dig-nity, it is only a machine through which creative Power and
Wisdom effects their natural works. Hence, it is self-evident
that the machine in no stage of its existence, can bind or control
its maker; as all its powers are placed therein by the maker
thereof, he can, to our finite perception, alter and re- arrange
their operations and productions, at any time, according to his
will, as he sees fit, to answer his purposes for the time being.
4. This man can do with any machine which he has the power
to form; if, then, we do not admit the aforesaid position, we do
not grant that God has equal power in His sphere, to man in his.
A glaring absurdity, indeed ! for certainly man derives all his
powers from the Author of nature, and in the above respect, is
His representative, as Creator, in the most special manner.
5. Therefore, as God is almighty, and all-wise, it is clearly
evident that the purposes originally designed by his wisdom,
cannot be prevented, but these purposes must include the free
agency of all intelligent beings, for otherwise they could not be
self-beings, but mere machines, impelled by foreign power.
Hence, by self-agency, their just reward, individually, depends
upon their own free action, as say the Scriptures: " Say ye to
the righteous, it shall be well with him : for they shall eat the
B. IX.
PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS.
481
Isa. iii. 10,
ii.
Rev. xxii.
12.
See Pja.
lxiviii. 41.
Isa. xxix.
14.
fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked ! it shall he ill with chap, in.
him : for the reward of his hands shall be given him." And the
last promise of God to man in the Scripture is, " Behold I come
quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give every man accord-
ing as his works shall be."
6. The Creator evidently works by instruments and means
adapted to the purpose intended, through successive orders and
gradations, many times out of sight of the wisest mortals. All
must admit that the wisest of men know little as yet, of the in-
herent powers of nature and what it may bring forth, when all
its powers come to the full. Still less can they scan and set
limits to the power and ability of the Eternal Unity ; and such
as attempt to do it, bring on themselves similar destructive loss
as did those rebellious Israelites who conducted after this
manner.
7. All must admit that many things take place in nature,
which no man can foresee, and which he cannot account for, on
any other ground than the work of invisible creative power.
Therefore, because of the 'marvellous work and wonder, which
the hand of the Lord does, " The wisdom of their wise men
perish, and the understanding of the prudent is hid;" Their un-
derstandings cannot comprehend it. Let them, then, learn this
wisdom, to know that they can only understand the power and
works of the Most High, as far as these are manifested by Divine
revelation, and by actual accomplishment.
8. Doubtless the supernatural creation of " the man Jesus,"
was as marvellous a work, and as great a ivonder as ever took
place on earth, to the sense of natural wisdom ; but is it any
more so, than was promised by the Prophet many hundred years
before it was effected? As before stated, God's eternal purposes
are planned in supreme wisdom ; and their ultimate design cannot
be prevented. Therefore, the fall, or spiritual death of man, See Book I.
which, as before has been proved to be an undeniable fact, both c' "''
by Scripture and reason, could not prevent the purpose of the
Creator, that the race of rational beings might ultimately, by
their own free agency, rise into that superior life and state of
being designed in the beginning,
9. For the progression of the works of God, attest the truth
of the Apostle's words, that the earnest expectations of the R0m. viii.
creature (man) waited for the manifestation of the sons of 19~23-
God ; and that the whole creation groaned and travailed in pain
together until that time. And why until then? Evidently,
because never before was there a mediator born in the human
race, through whom the power from the heavenly orders above
could be dispensed, sufficient to redeem man from under the bond-
age of that death; therefore, the manifestation of any real Son
of God, had never been known on earth until Jesus, who became
482 ILLUSTRATION OP B. IX.
chap. in. the gon 0f Q-od by the regenerative birth. Hence the creation
~~ groaned and travailed to bring forth this birth, whereby it might
be delivered, and the children of God might then begin to be
manifested.
10. For, though man died to the Divine law and order im-
planted in nature, for its guidance in propagation, and thereby
Rom. v. 12. " death passed upon all men," yet the Creator had (i.e. retained)
Mat. a. is. «< the residue of the spirit," the godly seed. Therefore the law
and order of nature did not die; but God reserved the spirit and
elements of life in his own power, to be supernaturally adminis-
tered in his own way and time, to subserve his own wise purposes.
It is of primary importance that those purposes should be clearly
understood, in order for a right understanding of the progres-
sive nature of the Divine work.
11. The purposes to be effected thereby, were firstly, to bring
forth witnesses of the law and order which the Creator intended
for the direction of his natural and rational beings, in order to
be justified in that state, and be rightful heirs of the higher order
of creation, when it should be manifested ; that these things
might be a warning and seal of judgment to mankind in their
consciences, which, by this law thus kept alive, would bear wit-
SeeRom ness : " an(^ their thoughts in the meanwhile, accuse or excuse
ii. 15. each other."
12. And secondly, to raise up a succession of preternatural
births, (i.e.) births supernaturally directed in the generative order ;
a chosen seed and line of promise, in which human nature should
progressively grow into higher and higher degrees of perfection,
until it should reach such maturity as to bring forth, by Divine
ministration, a man complete in the fulness of all the properties
and powers of nature, soul and body.
13. Such a one only could be a proper medium for the Divine
Spirit of Christ to enter into the world, in that superior state of
qualities which, when brought into the heavenly order of the
new creation of God, could overrule and subject all the powers
m^ia Pet" aQd properties of the world, thus to be the Head of, and over, all
beings and spirits that ever proceeded from nature : and from him
in completed order, the true Church proceeds, which is the new
See Eph. i. order of creation. " The kingdom of heaven upon earth, which,
so, 22. & as fast as it supplants the natural, builds up the spiritual order
DoW TVI 1 111* 'it
of creation, and makes all things new.
14. It may be asked, why could not the real Christ be mani-
fested in the world, by some agent, before Jesus ? "We answer,
because there never before was a man of sufficient magnitude in
powers of creation, to be able to bear the light and power of the
Divine Spirit of Christ in that fulness which was necessary to re-
deem the human race. But Jesus received his spirit without
measure.
in
Rev. xxi.
Jno, iii. 34.
B. IX. PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS. 483
15. For before him there was no man who could endure the chap. in.
warfare and sufferings necessary to overcome the strong and See2Tjm
mighty enemy that held mankind "captive at his will." And ii. 26.
without this warfare and conquest, the promise could never be
fulfilled. " The Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him Jerxsxi,
from the hand of him that was stronger than he." And it, was ii.
foretold, ages before, that no one before Jesus would be able
to do this work, for he would have to tread the wine-press alone isa.hdii. 3,
and of the people there would be none with him : and his own arm 5-
would bring salvation. Though the language is figurative,
yet the substance was evidently fulfilled in Jesus, and with no
propriety can it be said in any other man.
16. Therefore it is evident that this work could never be
effected until a branch of human nature had risen to the ultimate
concentration of powers, that its properties were capable of bear- Seeiieb.x.
ing ; this was effected in the man Jesus. Hence, he was the 5. ..
prepared medium for the new creating life of Christ. Thus, the 32.
kingdom of heaven was in and by him begun among men.
17. If any man could clearly understand the principles and
operations by which a line of supernaturally directed, or preter-
natural, births were brought forth in the generative order, which
evidently prepared the way progressively for the miraculous
creation of the man Jesus ; he would not think that event to be
so great a mystery as he would otherwise suppose, but would be
prepared to view it as the ultimate of that progression ; for the
generative germ of man in the lower order must be cut off from
him in his creation, or he could not be the medium of the higher
order of creation.
18. For, according to Scripture, and the writings of Josephus,
there was evidently, from the beginning, a chosen line over whom
a measure of supernatural agency was exercised in the work of
generation. Thus before the flood although the great mass of
mankind was running down lower and lower, that is, further and
further from the Divine law and order for nature, and sinking Gen.vi.i,
deeper and deeper into depravity, yet the immediate line of Ui 8<
the Patriarchs and those who followed them, who were called the
children (or rather the servants) of God, were, by supernatural
influences, restrained in the generative order, at least so far that
they appear in a good degree practically to have kept the law of
nature as it was originally given, so as to regard proper times
and seasons for procreation.
19. First: This is evident; for the Scriptures find no fault
with the line of the Patriarchs on that ground ; but represent
them as waiting to full maturity, before entering into that work ;
and to act in it, only for the propagation of offspring. Second:
The Divine Spirit did not withdraw its striving and protect-
ino- influence from the world, until that order fell away, and
484 ILLUSTRATION OF B. IX.
chap. in. mingled with the seed of Cain, (who were called the children of
men) and like them, took wives of all they chose of their bewitch-
ing daughters; and went in unto them to please their carnal
lusts, with no supernatural direction ; and regardless of any law
or order of God.
20. Here is the plain distinction between the two orders of the
See Jos. world. And in this Josephus confirms the Scriptures. Then
i^chap^ tae Lord said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man.'"
iii- "And all flesh had corrupted his way." And it is evident that
unbridled lust was the primary cause of this universal depravity
See Gen. for which God withdrew his protecting Spirit, and sent the flood,
vi. & viii. which swept away the ungodly race from the earth.
21. There is still further evidence of such preternatural
influence and direction in the generative order shown in the case
of Enoch, who "walked with God" in procreating his offspring;
that is, he was obedient to supernatural direction given to him
See Gen. v according to that natural state; for this was the only way that
B2, 24. he could walk with God. Of Noah, it is expressly said, that
"He was a just man, and perfect in his generations ; according
to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he." In this man-
Gen, vi 9, ner he walked v;ith God, and produced a posterity under super-
27' natural direction. And thus, by preternatural agency, the dis-
tinction between the two orders of mankind was clearly marked.
22. Therefore, those who obeyed supernatural direction in the
generative order, were, in that, witnesses of the original law and
times for natural procreation ; thus, as they were restrained in
the strongest passion of corrupt nature, they were the more
easily enabled in a good degree to govern the lesser passions ;
See 2 Pet. hence, these were just men, being "preachers of righteousness,"
u'5' and thus "condemned the world of the ungodly," who were led
by their own lusts, to seek pleasure, instead of seeking to fulfil
the generative law ; by which means, the effects of pride, ambition
and selfishness came rolling in like a flood, and deluged the earth
with its abominations, injustice, and cruelty, until they were over-
whelmed with the flood of destruction.
23. But from this state of the corrupt world the faithful
witnesses of God were saved. Enoch was translated from the
wis. Sol. world, "for God took him;" thus was he taken from the evil to
come, in God's own way and time. And righteous Noah, and
his family were miraculously saved in the ark from the destroy-
See l Cor. hig flood. These things " were written for our instruction ; " and
are a serious lesson and warning of the like effects from like
causes in all ages. Here we may remark, that all the special
manifestations of the Divine Spirit, and all protecting power,
was, throughout this time, dispensed to and through those who
were under preternatural restraint in the generative propensity.
24. After the flood, the preternatural directing influence was
x. u
B. IX. PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS. 485
displayed in a higher order, in the production of births, who CHAP- nI'
were all witnesses of, and instruments in, the progressive degrees
of the Creator's works. First, God raised up Abraham, as the
first father of the typical chosen people, who were to prefigure the
spiritual chosen people, in his final work, through Christ. And to
him He promised a son, for whom he had to wait many years.
25. But at length it was preternaturally fulfilled, and the son
was born after his mother was past age. and who had ever been
barren. Hence a preternatural power had to quicken nature and
enable her to bear; and they were also expressly directed. The
angel messenger said, "I will certainly return unto thee accord- Gen.xviii.
ing to the time of life ; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son." lu-
"Therefore sprang there of one, (and him as good as dead) so Heb.xi.u,
many as the stars of the sky in multitude." This plainly signi-
fies that the whole Hebrew nation sprang from a miraculous
birth, which was equivalent to raising the dead, the most eminent
type ever given of the origin of spiritual Israel.
26. This son was a typical seed of promise, which prefigured Gal- »"• 16-
Jesus, who was the real promised seed of the woman, that should
be supernaturally created, and born of a virgin, without the
generative will or co-operation of man. "Behold, a virgin shall lsa-vii.14.
conceive and bring forth a son ; " an utter impossibility by the
knowledge of man, for the first act would have destroyed the
character. Second : Jacob and Esau were generated and born
, ... , ,. ,„i ,i • (.Ten. xxv.
under preternatural liberty and direction. Thus the circum- 2i,23.
stances of their births and lives, as Jacob supplanted Esau, pre-
figured, that the spiritual man, and the superior order of the
new creation in Christ should connectively follow the natural. SeeSEsd.
And although rising from the same natural medium, would
finally supplant and do it away.
27. Third : The birth and preservation of Moses, was by pre- Ex ^ fa
ternatural directing influence. And, in his birth and preserva- Heb.xi.23.
tion, and in his refusing the honors and royalty of Egypt, and JJj j££;
especially in his delivering Israel from the bondage of Egypt, book ii. c.
he was the most eminent type of Jesus the Saviour in the
like preservation ; and was the most evident type ever exhibited
of the Saviour's deliverance of his people from the worse than
Egyptian bondage of the world. This type is clearly declared .
in Deut. xviii. 15, &c.
28. Fourth: Sampson, whose mother was naturally barren,
was enabled, by preternatural influence, to bring forth this son,
who, in birth and miraculous strength, and laying the founda- Judj,egxiii
tion for the deliverance of his people from their enemies, pre- b. &c; 'jo-
figured that man who was miraculously brought into the world, ^mlbook
and whose power was superior to all the strength and powers of v. chap.
nature, and who thereby laid the foundation of the deliverance
of his people from their spiritual enemies.
486
ILLUSTRATION OP
B. IX.
CHAP. III.
— •
See I Sam.
ch. vi. vii.
See 1 Sam.
19,2(1. Here
is the first
aceoum of
such an
order.
See .lose-
plius" Ant.
book v. eh.
x.
Dan. xi. 12.
Jer. xxiii.
5. & xxxiii.
io.
29. And his being overcome, shorn of his strength, and his
eyes put out, also being bound under the power and service of his
enemies, until his strength grew again to such a degree that he
pulled down the pillars, and thereby overthrew their idol
temple, which ultimated in the miraculous deliverance of his
people from their enemies ; prefigured the spiritual blindness
which came upon the Christian Church, by falling under the
power of their enemies, through the delusive charms of a carnal
nature, and being bound under the service of the world, until
their spiritual strength grew again to such a degree that it pulled
down the pillars of the idol temple of antichrist, and which will
ultimately overthrow the whole antichristian building, and effect-
ually deliver spiritual Israel.
30. The fifth of this progressive preternatural order, was Sam-
uel, for his birth was produced by prayer of her who was barren ;
and by the blessing of the high priest. And he was a Prophet
and a judge of Israel; and miraculously effected their deliver-
ance from their enemies ; also he began a new order in Israel,
the school of the Prophets ; and which produced those called the
children of the Prophets, so often mentioned in the Old Testament.
31. Thus he began a new era; for, from this order was raised
up a succession of Prophets in Israel, which was continued until
they were scattered among the nations ; these, by prophetic reve-
lation, kept alive the knowledge of the branch in whom Christ
would appear, and by this ministration, nourished and promoted
its growth. And, even after Israel was scattered, a measure of
the same spirit, raised up divers Prophets to foretell their return,
as figurative of the restoration of the true Church, in Christ's
second appearing, after the falling away.
32. In all these things he, in a most peculiar manner, pre-
figured Jesus Christ in his supernatural birth in a good degree,
and in an eminent manner prefigured his spiritual office and work,
in the deliverance of spiritual Israel for a time, and raising up an
order of inspired Prophets and teachers among his people, and
continuing, by his Spirit, to inspire witnesses, after "the power
of the holy people was scattered."
33. There were several others, according to the Scriptures,
whose generative births were in a measure directed by preter-
natural influence, to prefigure certain events, both providential
and spiritual, such as the Shunamite's son, (see 2 Kings, iv. 16,
17,) the son of Isaiah, (Isa. viii. 1, 4,) also the children of Hosea,
(see Hosea, chap. 1.) All of them pointing more or less to
"the Branch of righteousness," and thereby helped to keep alive
the spiritual elements, which promoted its growth. But none
of these, though witnesses of preternatural power above the
ordinary course of nature, began a new era, in the increasing
work of the Creative Unity.
B. IX. PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS.
SECTION II.
TIIE SUBJECT FURTHER ILLUSTRATED.
34. Having illustrated the preceding orders, we now come to
the sixth and highest order of preternatural agency in the pro-
duction of offspring in the generative work. This was mani-
fested in John the Baptist, whose parents "were both stricken Luke, i. 7,
in years," and who never had posterity; and were then past &c-
producing any offspring, after the course of nature. John was
evidently the highest production of human nature that ever was
or could be brought forth by the natural generative work, even
preternaturally influenced in the highest possible degree ; for in
this case it appears that the procreative faculty had to be quick-
ened into life, in both male and female ; and if there could have
been any higher production, it must have taken place before the
production of the Messiah.
35 . Yet John could not be the medium of the kingdom of heaven ; ^M?4-
for the ordinary line of procreation in him was not cut off, although
he was preternaturally produced. The degree of his birth and
work, was the immediate precursor of the Messiah and his work.
The branch of human nature which had been successively
nourished, and thus progressively kept growing in the line of the
promised seed, having now come to its greatest height of sub-
sistence, by the diffusion and operation of the creative energy,
brought forth the proper offspring to be the medium between the
natural and heavenly worlds — the old and new creation. This
was Jesus, the son of man, ihe true branch of righteousness ; Jer. xxiii.
who was the seventh and last, for he was the transition medium- 5-
between the old natural creation, and the new and heavenly
creation of God.
36. This fulfilled the prophetic promise, "There shall come isa.xi. i-
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow 5-
out of bis roots : and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him ;
the spirit of wisdom and understanding," &c. This was fulfilled
at his baptism, by the descent of the Divine Spirit of Christ geJota,!.
which abode upon him. Observe, this does not signify that this
branch shall be produced as the posterity of Jesse, but "shall
come forth and grow out of his roots; " a peculiar mode of ex-
pression, which evidently must signify that though it sprang from
the roots of human nature, (the line of Jesse being counted the
most noble line of the race of man,) yet it came forth, not in the
natural order of the generative work, but grew and came forth
by creative progression.
37. We may further remark, to show the importance of this
line of preternatural births, that all the inspired revelations from
488 ILLUSTRATION OF B. IX.
chap. in. God, to form a new era for the progress and direction of man-
kind into higher and higher orders of perfection, have been pro-
duced through the line of the agents of preternatural births, and
such offspring and their descendants. No new dispensation, nor
special order of the increasing work of God, up to the coming of
Christ in the son of man, has ever come in any other line, as all
scripture and history attest.
38: Witness the revelations to the Patriarchs — the origin of
typical Israel, who were all the descendants of such births ; and
the law to them by Moses, and through them, the knowledge of
the true God, and of the moral law, have been maintained and
extended to all nations. And above all, the Divine law of
eternal life, by Jesus Christ was revealed through him who
was pre-eminently brought forth above all others, by the opera-
tive enerey of Divine Power and Wisdom.
o9. From these premises, it is evident that, until the entrance
of the Divine Spirit of Christ into the world, through his pre-
pared medium, the, son of man ; no new revelation that produced
any important era in the progressive work of God, ever came in
any line but the aforesaid. For there was no appropriate mediator
in the world in which the Spirit of Divine light and truth could
take tip its abode in a sufficient measure to effect any such era.
40. Nearly all the spiritual knowledge and maxims of the
moral law in the world, may be traced to the aforesaid source.
Hence we may with propriety learn, that the design of God was,
by those progressive orders, to improve and concentrate the
elements of the world in this superior line or branch, until it
necessarily, according to the Divine purpose, brought forth its
highest fruit — the medium of the new Creation, which would be
Seeiieb. eternally abiding. This is the "Anchor of hope, both sure and
vi. 18,20. steadfast," to the true Christian. And this order can only be
found in the elements of Christ, manifested through the afore-
said medium.
41. It is evident, from the Scriptures, that the child Jesus was
created by the co-operative influence and energy of the same
creative Spirits in the order of male and female, that created the
world in the beginning, and who formed man "in their own
image." This was evidently predicted by ancient prophecy, and is
the universal testimony of Scripture ; and the manner was plainly
declared to the Virgin Mary, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon
thee, and the poioer of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; " thus,
by the united co-operation of these spiritual powers, the child
Jesus was formed in and of a proper earthly medium ; and there-
fore he was created of human nature, soul and body.
42. Thus plainly showing, that an influx of the creative bear-
ing spirit, should come upon her, to enable her to conceive and
bear ; and the power of life from the originating Spirit of the
B. IX.
PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS.
489
Creator should overshadow her, to diffuse and implant a concen- chap.iii.
tration, or seed of the primary element of offspring.
43. These two orders of supernatural spirits were manifested
as the creative and producing powers of all things in the begin-
ning. For the moving, (or in the original) brooding Spirit, and Gen. i.
the originating Spirit, are distinctly declared as bringing forth all
things, in progressive orders. But when man was created, it
was expressly stated that he was "formed of the dust of the
ground."
44. That is, he was formed of the elements of the natural world,
spirit and matter, as they then were, being brought to that
maturity that such a being could be produced of their substance.
But this could not have been effected until those natural elements
had come to such maturity that the world could bring forth, by
creative energy its highest natural production in the primary
order of creation. This is evident, from man being the last
natural production brought forth.
45. As Adam was "a figure of him that was to come," in the
nature and order of his creation, therefore, from this similitude
it is evident that Jesus, the Head of that superior creation, of
which the natural was only a figure, could not, consistently with
creative order, have been produced by the energy of the Divine
Spirits, from. and of the living elements of human nature, until that
nature had come to such maturity, that it could of its substance,
produce its highest possible fruit. Nay, until the noblest branch of
human nature, had risen to the utmost height of its powers and
properties, that was possible in the natural order, this produc-
tion could not be effected.
46. But, when that growth was attained, then, by Divine
Agency, the elemental seeds could be, and were gathered and
concentrated in that virgin medium, who was of the highest
order in the preternatural line of natural offspring, * and through * See Apo-
her, this seed was nourished by the natural elements in like Testame
manner as in the ordinary course of physical production, and was
thereby brought forth a living being.
47. Hence, Jesus was formed of all the elements and proper-
ties of human nature ; but in the high order, as to subsistence and
qualities, in which his mother stood. He therefore must have
inherited all the subsistent powers and propensities of human
nature in their highest degree. But not those low grovelling
passions, which defile the ordinary state of the flesh, and are no
constitutent part of man, but are engendered by pernicious verses7>s
and polluted habits ; for these, whatever might have been his
temptations, he always abstained from.
48. In the primary creation of man, there was a breath, or
element of life; that is a spirit air,* from the Spirit and dual
* This the original word spirit signifies.
32
stament.
See Juile.
490 ILLUSTRATION OF B. IX.
chap. in. order of his Creator, breathed or inspired into his soul, which,
when he erew into its life, made the natural father of the race
of man, an intellectual, rational being. This, no other animal crea-
ture ever possessed. This was the meaning of man's becoming
a living soul ; for he was thereby joined to an emanation from
the next order above, and knew God and a future state.
49. So also, after this similitude, Jesus, the Father of the
spiritual race of man, had the living element or breath of life,
from the supernatural order of his Creator, breathed or inspired
into his living soul ; and, by his obedience, this was continually
infused in the same manner, which made him a heavenly and
Divine man, in the very image and subsistent likeness of the
Divine Christ, which no other being ever was before him ; but
not until by his own free agency he grew into its real life, and
came to maturity in the Divine powers thus infused. In the same
manner Jesus Christ infused his living elements into his disciples,
Mat. x. i. when he sent them forth to preach, and gave them power
over unclean spirits, and to heal all manner of sickness and
disease, and especially when he breathed on them, and said,
John, xx. " Receive ye the Holy Spirit," and enabled them to infuse the
22- same life.
50. Nevertheless, the words of the angel to the Virgin Mary,
do not signify that the child Jesus was created by the immediate
operation of the Eternal Parentage. But there were two cor-
responding spirits distinctly declared as operating in his produc-
tion, through the Virgin, without any co-operation of man :
namely : the spirit that came upon her, and enabled her to re-
ceive by a spiritual infusion the germinal seed or life of human
nature. This spirit evidently operated in the female order,
therefore must be a mother spirit. And the spirit power, which
overshadowed her, must be in the male order, hence was evident-
ly a father spirit.
51. But it was not declared that the Highest, but the power
of the Highest should overshadow the Virgin. Neither was it
said that Eternal Wisdom or the Eternal Mother came upon her,
though both emanated from the Creative Unity, and dispensed
creative power and life, but not immediate, but mediately, dif-
fused through proper spirit agents. Doubtless the Angel or su-
pernatural messenger was the agency to administer this creative
power, according to the will of God ; for it is expressly said that
"His angel was sent," &c.
52. Therefore he could dispense this life-giving power, in like
manner as Jesus and his Apostles dispensed the life-giving power
of the Holy Spirit; and as the power of God and divinely ope-
rating life has been often administered by visible agency ; as is
abundantly attested in the Scripture, and by many other witnesses.
Also many times miraculously operating powers are administered
13. IX. PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS. 491
wholly by invisible agency to human beings, in diversities of chap. in.
operations and gifts, by the same Spirit." x Cor xii
53. Among those various gifts, the gifts of healing are evi-
dently of the same order as that creative power by which man
was first brought into living existence. For this power has been
dispensed to such a degree as to raise the dead to life ; i.e. to call
back the departed soul into a dead body, and thus bring it to life. Kings,xvii.
Then, is it not reasonable to believe that the power that could e['J"cC^lh"
raise the dead to life, could as easily bring forth, through a pro-
per medium, a living being, composed of the elements of human
nature ? Certainly the former appears fully equal to the power
of creating a new being through the proper living medium of
human life, where the Divine energy was dispensed for that
purpose.
54. Therefore, we may see that, as Jesus was the agent to
dispense the power to raise the dead to life, including one Mat. iii. 9.
" who had lain four days in the grave," through the reanimation See John,
of their souls by the power of Christ, it is equally consistent to chxi&c-
believe, that the same Spirit could and did, through appropriate
agency, bring him, soul and body, into natural being and life,
to subserve the purpose of Eternal Wisdom, in beginning
thereby the new and higher order of creation. Thus it appears
evident that the foregoing premises, so far from contravening the
laws, or rather the principles, implanted in nature by the Crea-
tive Unity, are the progressive unfolding of the same, and
thereby effect the ultimate purpose for which they were given.
55. But it should be considered that no order nor production
in the creation was perfected at once, but began small, like a
seed, and increased to its ultimate, by growing in progressive
stages, and must be governed by laws and acting powers accord-
ing to the present stage of successive growth, all being directed
by invisible power, to promote and effect the ultimate designs of the
Creator. Therefore man is utterly incapable of deciding what the
principles of creation can or will ultimately produce, any faster
than as they are manifested. All must rationally admit that the
first man could have no other origin than to be brought forth by
a spiritual agency, through the medium of the earth, and was
formed of its properties by invisible power.
56. Thus, if supernatural agency could create the first father
of the natural creation of man, through the medium of the inani-
mate earth, and make him of its properties, it must be a great
absurdity to deny that the same Creative Agency could form
that man who became the first Father on earth of the new and
spiritual creation of man, through the medium and of the natural
substance brought forth by a living woman. Hence St. Paul
says, " He was made of a woman, made under the law." By Gai.iv.4.
this means, Divine Wisdom plainly manifested that here ended
492 ILLUSTRATION OP B. IX.
chap. in. the progressive increase in the generative order, and that the re-
generative order began in the man Jesus.
57. For, as the ordinary generative work of natural life ceased
in the production of Jesus, and was cut off entirely in him, by
the regenerative life, thereby the regenerative elements and
life were implanted in human nature. Therefore, all who
receive and are led by his Spirit and Divine elements, must cease
from the generative work and life, and thus rise by the regenera-
tive work, into the life of the heavenly creation. And they will
xxe aCal! thereby become "as the angels of God in heaven." Such are
truly "the children of God." This is the true resurrection.
58. According to Josephus and other ancient records, the suc-
cessive production of preternatural births, in the chosen line, as
has been stated, were so well known and so fully attested, that it
was the general belief of the ancients, that such births had many
times taken place ; though some of them were fabulous ; yet all
were doubtless founded on these facts. And the prophetic pre-
dictions were so plain on the birth of the Messiah, as to make it
the established expectation of all Jewish people, nearly or quite
universally, that he would be born of a virgin and supernaturally
formed without the co-operation of man : and this is their expec-
tation to this day.
59. And that it was the general, if not universal, testimony of
all the Christians of the early ages, that Jesus was so brought
forth, is fully attested, not only by the Scriptures, but also by
all their authentic writings of those times. Also this sentiment
of the Christians is confirmed by all the authentic writings of
several of the earliest centuries, whether friend or foe, whether
Christian, Gentile, or Mahometan. And it is likewise attested,
by tradition, among all orders of people. There is no historical
event that we know of, which is supported by such a mass of
uniform testimony of all kinds.*
60. There are passages of Scripture that may appear to some
to support the sentiment that Jesus was the original Christ, the
first begotten Son of God. But these are of a mixed character ;
* In agreement with, and corroboration of, the above, it may be proper here to
state, that the history of the different sects into which the Christian Church was
divided, during the first three or four centuries, testifies, that those of them who
lived the purest lives, (i.e. who renounced matrimony, and all carnal indulgences,
and kept themselves separate from the governments of the world, as the Gnostics,
Nazarcncs, &c, all of whom lived and died without hearing or even thinking of
the doctrine of the Trinity,) although not perfect in their knowledge of all that
pertained to Jesus Christ and his Gospel, held that Jesus ivas bom of a virgin;
and that Christ, the everlasting Son of God, was a distinct personal being, mysteri-
ously united to Jesus. The Tatianists, Valentinians, and Cerinthus and his fol-
lowers, and others, held that Christ, the Divine Son of God, descended from heaven,
at the baptism of Jesus by John in Jordan, and that then and there the union took
place. And not one of all the sects believed in the resurrection of the body. The
Nazarenes and Gnostics rose about the time of the Apostles, and must therefore
have known the primitive faith of the Church. Their sentiments have been handed
down in a direct line.
B. IX.
PRETERNATURAL BIRTHS.
493
the distinction is not made between the manifester, and the
manifested. But upon the ground that they "knew in part, and
prophesied in part, and when that which is perfect is come, that
which is in part shall be done away." These all may be rendered
consistent with the tenet, that Jesus was the manifest er ; that is
the mediator, through whom the Divine Spirit of the original
Christ, (to us *) the first begotten Son of God, and the primitive
medium of all his works was manifested.
61. But on the other hand, there are many passages that are
direct and positive, which, consistent with language, must be
construed in such a manner as to declare the pre-existence of the
primitive Son of God, "before the world was," and Avho was
beloved "before the foundation of the world." Such as, First,
"God has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he
hath ordained Heir of all things ; by whom also he made the
worlds." Second, And of the same Son it is said " And thou
Lord in the beginning, hath laid the foundations of the earth ;
and the heavens are the work of thine hands."
62. Third, Again, of the Son by the inspired Apostle it is
said, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of
every creature. For by him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things
were created by him, and for him." The Prophets spake by the
Spirit of Christ many ages before Jesus was born.
63. No one of these texts can, with any propriety, be applied to
Jesus the Son of man; for he "was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death." Therefore this could
not possibly apply to the Divine Son of God, who was the Agent
of creating all things in the beginning, and " who was
before all things," and the Head over all things ; for he (Jesus)
" was made lower than the angels," not before, but long after
an «' innumerable multitude" of them, and untold millions of
men were created.!
64. But it is perfectly consistent to consider that, in these
texts, an allusion is conjointly made to Jesus as the medium, or
manifester, through whom the Divine Son, the first Anointed in
heaven, was revealed on earth, and manifested by his Spirit as
man ; and by whose anointing life Jesus was brought forth in,
the first Anointed, or Christ, in the human race, and the first born
of the new and spritual race, or Church. Therefore, Jesus was
the manifester, and the Divine Christ the manifested, with creative
power and energy, to make all things new in the heavenly order.
\ " When the foundations of the earth were laid, the morning stars and Sons of
God sang together and shouted for joy." These must have been spiritual beings,
that then existed, and doubtless were in the order of female as well as male ; and
of the primeval and highest order of that innumerable multitude of angels. See
Job, xxxviii. 4, 7.
CHAP. III.
1 Cor.
9, 10.
* See Isa.
ix. 6. & 1
Cor. viii. 6.
John. xvii.
5,24.
Heb.i. 1,2.
vs. S. 10.
Col. i. 15,
16.
See 1 Pet.i,
11, & m:iny
o(her simi-
lar lexts.
Heb. ii. 2,
3.
See 2 Es-
dras, vi. 3.
See 1 Cor.
xii. 12.
2Pet.iii.13.
494 ILLUSTRATION OF, &C. B. IX.
chap. in. 95. And of the children of this new creation, in the elements
of Christ, Jesus becoming the immediate offspring, (when rightly
understood,) is not improperly called by his name, any more than
a son is improprely called by the surname of his father. And we
may consistently see that he often spake in that name, but never
called himself the Son of God till after he was divinely anointed,
and thus became so, by the Christ birth.
66. Therefore he was the prepared medium through which the
spirit of Christ was planted in the world. When this seed had
thus taken root in the elements of human nature, it never could
be rooted out ; but being nourished by special revelations, in higher
and higher degrees, which progressively brought forth more and
more co-operative agents in the female line, it continued to
germinate and take deeper and deeper root, until it brought forth
the manifestation of Christ in the female order, through a chosen
vessel who was redeemed from the strongest bands of a carnal
nature. This completed the manhood of the spiritual Parentage
of all the children of the regeneration ; for thereby all souls,
whether male or female, may be redeemed from the strongest
bands of their carnal nature, and be born into the heavenly
nature of eternal life.*
67. Thus the completed order of Christ, revealed as male and
female, according to the order of Deity, brought to its con-
summation the manifestation and design of that unity of beings
in the creation of God, as male and female, which had descended
in a direct line, by revelation and creative power, from those celes-
tial spirits who existed before the earth was. For, " when the
foundations of the earth were laid, the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. These must
have been spiritual beings who then existed in the image and
likeness of God, and therefore in the order of male and female,
which is further manifested by their different manner of exercise,
shouting as appropriate to males, and singing to females. Hence
they were evidently the prototypes of the human race ; and in
their image and likeness, man, as male and female, in a medial
line, is descended.
N. B. As a corroboration of the sentiments contained in this work, respecting
the Parentage and manifestation of Christ in the order of male and female, tho
reader may examine Dunlavy's Manifesto, 2nd edition, particularly last page,
(486.)
* It is worthy of special notice, that Jane Wardley was the first agent in the
spirit of that revival work, by which Ann Lee was baptized, prepared and divinely
anointed for her mission; therefore this was evidently the spirit of John the Bap-
tist, or "Ellas," operating in the female line, to prepare the way for the second
appearing of Christ in the order of the female. We may further remark, that in
the latter part of the seventeenth century, the aforesaid work was preceded by the
revelations of one Jane Leads, a Prophetess, (in England,) who plainly foretold tho
future manifestation of the " Bride of the Lamb " in a woman, "over whom virgin
Wisdom should draw her spotless veil of purity, expressly to personate herself."
Thus was brought forth a harbinger of that preparatory work, which ushered in
the fulfilment of this remarkable revelation.
B. IX. THE COMING OF CHRIST, &c. 495
CHAPTER IV.
TIIE COMING OP CIIRIST A SPIRITUAL WORK.
Coming has a two-fold signification : First, when any thing is chap. iv.
brought forth in the order of the visible creation, it is said to '
come. In this sense, every thing that has life, is said to come
into the world. Seco?id, when anything removes from one place
to another, it is said to come to that place to which it removes.
2. In this sense, created visible objects move to and fro; in
relation to each other, and can only exist in one place at one and
the same time; whereas in the former sense, an object may
come, and exist in a thousand places, at one and the same time ;
as is plain from the coming of the day, the summer, or the har-
vest. Christ is not only a spiritual being, but there also exists
an element which is the true anointing, the spirit and power of
salvation called Christ, and this will be the manifestation of God, CoL j-2? 7-
in the flesh, to man, until the work of redemption is completed, hi. ig.
3. Hence the figures that are used to describe his coming:
11 Behold the day corneth, that shall barn as an oven. — Ye know Mai. iv. 2.
that summer is nigh. — Say not ye, there are yet four months, 3oat' joh„
and then corneth harvest? — The harvest is the end of the loorld. iv.35.
The end is come upon the jour comers of the world. — On whom icor.x!n!
the ends of the world are come.^
4. Then, as the coming of Christ is compared to the day, the
summer, and the harvest, and every one knows that such things
in nature, are not material bodies, that go from place to place;
therefore it is evident that they must be grossly mistaken, who
look for Christ to come into the world from some other part of
space, in some external form or bodily appearance.
5. But, as the day is brought forth in its order, and succeeds
the night, in the. revolution of things ; and as summer and harvest
succeed the fall and fruitless winter, in the order of the seasons ;
so is the coining of the Son of man, and the entering in of that
Divine influence which shall make an end of sin, and establish
everlasting righteousness. Such is the nature of Christ's coining,
from which the manner of it may be clearly understood.
6. To illustrate this subject more clearly, it may be proper to
observe, a little further, the analogy between the first and second
Adam. Each was created in his order by the Word, and the
difference lay in the nature and quality of the second causes,
through which they were brought into being, and revealed. The
natural heavens and earth existed before the first man, and out
of the heavens and earth he was created, a body and soul united,
16
496 THE COMING OF CHRIST B. IX.
chap, iv. which constituted the heavens and the earth in the highest, and
most refined sense then existing.
Jas. iii. 15, 7. And although man, by his fall, became "earthly, sensual,
and devilish,'''' and was said to be flesh, because the flesh, which
was his animal part, reigned over his living soul, which was an
emanation from heaven, in and by which he could hold any degree
of communion with God ; yet the heavens and the earth, as mani-
fested in man, the most noble and refined part of the natural
creation, continued as they were, through all generations, until the
new creation bea;an.
8. And, as man in his first or natural creation, was superior to
the first visible heavens and earth ; so it could not be out of the
first, but out of that which was more perfect and noble, that the
new creation could, in the true order of things, come forth.
9. And therefore, all that is said by the Prophets, concerning
the heavens and the earth, and the great confusion in both, at
the coming of Christ, is not to be understood as particularly
applying to the first heavens and earth, which existed before man
was created ; but as relating in substance to the soul and body
of man, which is heaven and earth, in the highest sense, pertain-
ing; to the natural creation.
10. And as Jesus, the Son of man descended from the line of
the first Adam, and was the completion of the natural man, in
whom human nature came to its height, he was destined, ulti-
mately to ascend, in glory and dignity, above the natural earthly
generative order, called the old, creation. So in human nature,
or in the souls and bodies of mankind, all those things were to
be finally accomplished, to prepare the way for the coming of
Christ, which were spoken of concerning the heavens and the
earth. Such as, " I will shake the heavens and the earth. The
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elemeiits shall
melt with fervent heat.'''
11. And, as both the old and the new creations, were by the
energy of the Word, it will be proper to notice more particularly
what that Word is. A word translated from one language to
another, is liable to be corrupted ; but God is of one mind and
who can turn him ? and the Word of God is simply his purpose or
will, revealed and made known in the co-operations of certain
causes, the effect of which is properly his work.
12. Then, however the Word of G-od may be expressed in
different languages, the sense is unchangeably the same in all.
And however different it may be expressed in Hebrew, Greek,
or Latin, or any other language, in plain English, from first to
last, it is, Let — not to hinder, but, Let it be, in the mind or
purpose of God, and it was or came to pass accordingly. This
will appear evident to be the Word, from the beginning of
Genesis to the end of Revelations. A few examples may suffice.
B. IX. A SPIRITUAL WORK. 497
13. God said, Let there be light, and there was light; Let chap. iv.
there be a firmament, and it was so; Let the waters be gathered Gen. i.
together, and Let the dry land appear, and it was so; Let the
earth bring forth grass, and it was so; Let the waters bring
forth — Let the earth bring forth the living creatures, and it was
so; Let us make man, so God created man.
14. Here we see the Word, according to its operation on
things natural. Thus the worlds were framed by the Word of
God ; and man constituted the world in its highest sense. Hence
Peter, speaking of the heavens and the earth, that were in the
time of Noah, says, " The world that then was, being overflowed 2 Pet. iii. 6,
with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth which are 7>12-
now, by the same Word are kept in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men.
When the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved."
15. Observe, it was not the first heavens and earth, or first
natural world, that perished by water; for this was all very
good, and had never committed any offence against the Creator;
while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.
16. But it was the world of the ungodly who perished, the
heavens and the earth that then were ; and by the same Word
the heavens and earth were kept in store, reserved unto the day
of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men. Therefore said
Jesus Christ : For judgment am I come into the world.
17. And how did he come into the world for judgment ? It
was by the energy of the same Word, operating in and upon the
heavens and the earth, or world, which had not come into the
work of the new creation ; that is, pertaining to the human soul
and body, to arraign man before this superior light. When the john.iii. 15,
fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Word through 19-
which the Son of man was brought forth by means of a woman.
Mary said unto the angel, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, Be
it, or Let it be, unto me according to thy Word : and it was so. Luke, i. 13.
18. And the Word of God grew and multiplied: which is the
Word of faith. And as many as received the Word, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God ; who became such,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God. And hence the Word became flesh, or rather the
Word was manifested in the flesh ; * and the Word was, Let it be, * original,
and God divided the flesh from the Spirit, and the flesh he called John> K
flesh, and the Spirit he called Spirit : and it was so.
19. Now the Lord is that Spirit : Because ye are sons, God 17.
hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. Hereby ^i1^-6
we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given 24.
us. Hence it is truly and properly expressed : The Spirit dwelt
in us, " and we beheld his glory, (not the glory of the flesh, but
498
THE COMING OP CHRIST
B. IX.
CHAI\ IV.
I\T;it xvi.
24.xis. J3.
Rev. xxii
11, 17.
Luke, xxi.
25-27.
TiUke, xvii.
21.
Mat.
27.
Mai. iv. 2.
of the Spirit,) the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth."
20. And as the sons of God did not come forth of the flesh, but
of the Spirit, therefore the Word was, to take up a cross against
the flesh, by which the flesh was divided from the Spirit. Hence
said Jesus, Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me. He that is able to receive it, Let him receive it : and
it ivas so.
21. This was the Word of liberty, under which every thing-
might act out its own disposition, without being obstructed by any
arbitrary or opposite power. And thus, while the Word opened
the prison doors for souls that were bound by the flesh, it afforded
equal liberty to those who loved those fetters of death, to con-
tinue in darkness under the bondage of sin.
22. And so it continues, equal liberty on both sides, even
until the last vision of the second appearing of Christ. And
here the Word is the same that it was in the beginning : " He
that is unjust, (or chooses to be unjust) Let him be unjust still;
he which is filthy, Let him be filthy ; he that is righteous, Let
him be righteous ; and he that is holy, Let him be holy. And
the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And Let him that heareth,
say, come. And Let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever
will, Let him take the water of life freely."
23. From all which it is evident that the coming of Christ was,
and is, in man. And although the heavens and earth in human
nature shall be shaken and set in commotion by his coming, and
all the false systems and institutions of man will be eventually
shaken and broken to pieces ; yet all that is finally to be wrought
or accomplished by his coming, is simply to be effected through
such a Divine agency of the Word as affords the soul liberty and
power to act according to the light and revelation of God,
therein manifested.
24. And hence the kingdom of God cometh not by observa-
tion. Neither shall they say Lo here ! or lo there ! for the king-
dom of heaven is within you, or among you. For as the shining
light, [Gr. a££owr»),] or brightness [alluding to the dawning of
the clay and the rising of the sun] cometh out of the east, and
shineth even unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be*
25. Thus the prophet Malachi : "Unto you that fear my
name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his
wings." And St. Paul : At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
with all his saints ; he shall come to be glorified in his saints.
And Jude : Behold the Lord cometh in ten thousand of his saints.
* This is improperly translated "lightning," for there is no general principle by
which lightning comes out of the east, but it as often comes out of the west, and
never shines many miles. Hence, as we have rendered it, the text is more original
and consistent.
B. IX.
A SPIRITUAL WORK.
499
CHAP. IV.
Imke xxi.
27.
Mat. xxiv.
30.
1 Thess. iv.
17
2 Thess. ii.
1.
Rev. i. 7.
Psa. xxxvi.
7.
Psa. xci 1.
Ileb. xii 1.
Joel, ii.
compared
with Psa.
xviii. 77.
Mat. xxiv.
26. Hence the saints are compared to clouds. Then shall
they see the son of man coming in a cloud : They shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven: We shall be caught
up together in the clouds ; which is the same as our gathering
together unto him : Behold he cometh with clouds : Seeing we
also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses : In
this coming and gathering together to him, the saints are cov-
ered, not in the natural clouds, but in the spiritual clouds of
heaven, as under the shadow of his wings, by which Christ in
them is hid from the eyes of the natural man.
27. Hence it is evident that Christ's coming was to be in and
with his people : both the nature and manner of which was pre-
dicted by the Prophet Joel, agreeable to the predictions of the
other Prophets, of Christ Jesus himself, and his Apostles.
28. " The day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. A
day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains ; a great
people and a strong ; a fire devoureth before them, and behind
them a flame burnetii : Before their face the people shall be much
pained ; all faces shall gather blackness : They shall enter in
at the windows like a thief."
29. " The earth shall quake before them ; the heavens shall
tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars
shall withdraw their shining ; for he is strong that executeth his
Word: for the day of the Lord is very terrible, and who can
abide it." This prophecy will doubtless be fulfilled both in the
order of Providence and grace ; the former, preparatory to the
latter, and has already been in a measure fulfilled.
30. Thus, while the day of the Lord is a day of darkness and
terror to the wicked, Christ is glorified in his saints ; and to
them his coming is the rising of the Sun of Righteousness.
Hence the Apostle also speaks of the coming and working of
the man of sin, in opposition to Christ ; and of the effects of
the working of that toicked in those who received not the love
of the truth, that they might be saved, for which cause God
would send, or rather suffer them to choose stro?ig delusions ; and
hence, while those who received the truth were in the light,
those who rejected it were in darkness.
31. Therefore it was said of the time of Christ's second com-
ing : Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with
the brightness of his coining : even him whose coming is after
the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying won-
ders, and with all deceivablencss of unrighteousness in them
that perish."
32. How justly then was Christ represented as coming in the Mat.xii. 24
clouds of heaven, in a day of clouds and thick darkness, seeing
2 Thess. ii.
S-10.
500
THE COMING OE CHRIST
B. IX.
CHAP. IV.
Amos v. 18.
Exo. xiv.
20.
1 Cor. i. 27.
Heb. iii.
Luke, xxi.
35.
Mat. xxiv.
30. Rev. i.
7.
Zech. xii,
10, 11, &c.
1 John, ii.
16.
Psa. xviii.
15. lxxvii.
16.
that clouds and darkness are figures of trouble and blindness of
mind! And therefore said the prophet Amos, "Wo unto you
that desire the day of the Lord ! to what end is it for you ? the
day of the Lord is darkness and not light." This was plainly
represented by the cloud which separated between the Egyptians
and the Israelites, which was a cloud and darkness to them, but
it gave light by night to these.
33. Then the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, im-
plies no visible appearance of either power or glory to the world,
but the contrary ; seeing '■'■God hath chose?i the foolish t hi figs
of this world to confound the wise ; the iveak things of the
ivorld to confound the things that are mighty ; and base things
of the icorld, and things which are despised, hath God chosen,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are;
that 7io flesh should glory in his 'presence.'1''
34. And therefore, to those who are in the flesh, that in which
Christ appears is both dark and contemptible ; and herein is the
hiding of his power ; and hence it is, that he should come as a
snare upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth.
Then nothing is more evident than that the manner of Christ's
coming is not according to the expectations of man ; for in vain
is the net spread in the sight of any bird.
35. Therefore, when Christ speaks of his coming in the clouds,
he also says, Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.
And again it is said, Behold he comcth with clouds, and every
eye shall see him, and all Mildreds of the earth shall wail
because of him: even so, Amen.
36. But why should they mourn and wail because of him ? It
is evidently because of the way, the truth and the life, which is
so contrary to their life, and which not only shakes the heavens
and the earth, but discovers the foundations of the world, and
that upon which it stands, and all that is therein, namely,
lust of the flesh, the hist of the eyes, and the pride of life.
37. " Then the channels of the waters were seen, and
foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. The waters saw thee,
O God, the waters saw thee ; they were afraid ; the depths also
were troubled,"
38. Christ promised again and again that he would come as a
thief in the night ; and therefore he again and again solemnly
warned his disciples to watch, and not to be overcome with sur-
feiting and drunkenness, or cares of this life, lest that day should
come upon them unawares.
39. And more striking figures could not be used than those
of a snare upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole
earth, and that of a thief in the night, to signify the manner of
his coming. Which agree perfectly with what the angels told his
the
the
B. IX.
A SPIRITUAL WORK.
501
Although the " same Jesus whom the
things," did
disciples on the mount : "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gaz-
ing up into heaven ? This same Jesus, which is taken up from
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen
him go into heaven."
40. And the manner in which they saw him go, was, that a
cloud received him out of their sight ; which shewed them that
as in the cloud he was invisible, so by coming in the clouds he
would come out of sight
heavens were to receive, until the restitution of all
doubtless come again, according to the word of the angel, in a
cloud of other saints, as their Leader, at the sounding of the
seventh trumpet ; yet this is not to be confounded with the
second appearing of Christ, the second Adam, in the order of the
female. For the female in whom the order of the Bride was
manifested, was constituted the Bride of the Lamb; therefore,
his Spirit was revealed in union with her in all her works, being
the invisible Father of all her children.
41. It is strictly true that every eye shall see him ; and be-
fore him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall separate
them, one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from
the goats. But it is in the course and progress of his work that
every eye shall see him, either to their everlasting joy or sor-
row, not by external sight, but by the eyes of the soul, operat-
ing upon the mind : For, as the brightness of the rising sun
commenceth in the east, and shineth even unto the west ; so shall
the coming of the Son of man be, gradual and progressive, until
the whole earth is enlightened with his glory.
42. But it was foreseen and foretold by the spirit of pro-
phecy, that man, wholly under the influence of visible objects,
living in earthly pleasures, and under false teachers, walking
after their own lusts, should deny Christ at his second coming ;
because they would not see those visible changes in the natural
creation, which, in their blind senses, they had formed, and which
they vainly imagined ought to take place, to answer their plans
of the manner of his coming.
43. It is true, say they, wars, and rumors of wars, and com-
motions are great in the earth, but this has always been more or
less the case, and there is nothing new. The Gentiles are not
yet converted, say they, nor the Jews gathered to old Jerusalem ;
nor do we see the dead bodies rising up out of their graves, and
bone coming to its bone ; nor do we see the heavens on fire, or
the earth burning up ; nor the sun darkened, nor the moon turned
into blood, or any of the stars falling from heaven ; but all things
continue as they were from the beginning.
44. Thus that Scripture is fulfilled, " Knowing this first, that
there shall come in the last days scoffers, ivalking after their
oion lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for
CHAP. IV.
Act?, i. 9-
11.
Mat.
32.
2 Peter,
3,4.
502 THE COMING OP CHRIST, &C. B. IX.
chap, iv. sjnce tke fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation."
45. All of which is but the greater confirmation of the words
Mat. xxiv. of Jesus Christ: " For as in the days that were before the flood,
3s, 39. [that is, while the ark was preparing, which was said to be 120
years,] they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark ; and
kneionot until the flood came, and, took them all away ; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be."
46. Therefore, as the manner of Christ's coming was certainly
and undoubtedly to be as a snare upon all flesh, and as a thief
in the night; say not in thine heart, I shall see his coming,
unless thou watch and pray, and have thy lamp trimmed, and
light burning.
47. The nature of his coming is likened unto the coming of
Rev xiv. harvest, and no person of common sense will say, Who shall
ascend into the clouds to bring down harvest from above ? or
who shall descend into the earth, to bring up harvest from
beneath? (for the seed is nigh thee, already in the earth, and
according to the appointed seasons, must grow up to maturity,
before the harvest can in reality appear.)
48. Therefore, " Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend
Pom. x. c- into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above ;) or Who
shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again
from the dead.) But what saith it? The Word [or seed of
Christ] is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart ; that is, the
Word of faith which we preach.'1''
B. IX. THE ORDER OP DEITY, &C. 503
PART II.
A COMPENDIOUS VIEW OF THE ORDER IN DEITY AS RE-
VEALED IN THE SECOND APPEARING OF CHRIST.
CHAPTEll I.
THE ORDER OF DEITY, MALE AND FEMALE, IN WHOSE
IMAGE MAN WAS CREATED.
The subject of the order in Deity, as male and female, and chap. i.
the corresponding order in Christ, has been set forth and
illustrated, at considerable length, in the preceding pages ; but in
various places, not immediately concentrated, being adapted as
explanatory of the various subjects with which it is connected.
Hence, this important subject may be more clearly understood
in a compendious form.
2. All who profess the Christian name, mutually believe in
one God, the eternal Father, the Creator of heaven and earth ; the
original Father of spirits, of angels, and of men. They also believe
in the first begotten Son of Cod in man ; the Saviour of the Mat . „_.
world; the Redeemer of men. By the Son, the true being and Luke,x.22.
true character of the Father, was first revealed: and, the exist- \^m' X1V
ence of the Son, while it proved the existence of the Eternal
Father, proved also the existence of the Eternal Mother.
3. Neither argument, nor illustration, would seem necessary
to prove this! For, without both a, father and mother, there
can be neither son nor daughter; either natural or spiritual,
visible or invisible ! The visible order of male and female, by
which all animated creation exists, proves the existence of the
order, in the invisible world, from which our existence is pri-
marily derived. " For the invisible things of God, from the
creation of the world are clearly see?i, being tmderstood by the
things that are made, even his eternal Power and Divinity ; so Rom. i. 20,
that they are without excuse : because that when they knew 22-
Cod, they glorified him not as God."
4. For "Cod said, Let tcs make man in our image, after our Oen. i. 26,
likeness." " So Cod created man; male and female created he 27'
them, in his own image, and after his own likeness." To whom
did God say, " Let us make man in our image? " Was it to the
504 THE ORDER OP DEITY, B. IX.
chap, i. gon the Father spoke, as the divines (so called) have long taught,
and still teach ? How then came man to be created male and
female ? father and son are not male and female; but father
and mother are male and female, as likewise are son and
See John, daughter. It was in this order that man was created. It was
job, ' a" tne °rder that existed in Deity, and superior spiritual intelligences
xxxviii. 17. before him, even " before the toorld was ; " and in the image and
after the likeness of which he was made, and placed as a proba-
tioner on the earth.
5. But it was not the Son with whom the Father spoke or
counselled ; or with any other being, angel or spirit, save only
with the Eternal Mother ; even Divine Wisdom; the Mother of
all celestial beings ! It was the Eternal Two who thus counselled
together, and said, " Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness." This is the same Eternal Mother who was with the
SeeProv. Father, whom the " Lord possessed in the beginning of his way,
vm. 22. before his works of old; even from everlasting, before ever the
earth was."
6. And this was, and is, the voice of the Eternal Mother,
Prv. viii. through the inspiration of her holy spirit : When the Lord pre-
22' 32' pared the heavens, I was there : When he appointed the found-
ations of the earth, then I was by him as one brought up with
him;* and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.t
Now, therefore, hearken unto me, my children ;t for blessed are
they that keep my ways."
7. Thus we may see the true order and origin of our exist-
ence, descending through proper mediations, not only in the
state of innocent nature, but in the state of grace ; proceeding
from an Eternal Parentage ; the Eternal Two, as distinctly Two,
as Power and Wisdom are Two ; and as the Father and Mother are
two ; yet immutably, unchangeably, One Spirit : One in Es-
sence and in substance, One in love and in design ; and so of the
whole spiritual relationship in the new creation and household
of God, Father and Mother, Son and Daughter, Brother and
Sister, Parents and Children; of which the order in the natu-
ral creation is a similitude.
8. And without this relationship there can exist no order in
creation ! Without a father and a mother we can have no exist-
ence, either in the old creation, by the first Adam, or in the new
* " Then I was by him, as one brought up with him." The German transla-
tion reads, " Da war ich der werkmeister bey ihm: " that is, " Then icas I the
chief co-worker with him." And this conveys the most correct idea, showing
that She was a co-worker with the Father, in all his works.
t " I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." This clearly shows
that She is the glory of the Father," as, in the similitude of man's creation and
existence, " the woman is the glory of the man.'" (1 Cor. xi. 7.)
J " My children," I have here preferred the German reading, ismeine kinder,"
asheing more correct than " O ye children," the latter implying other children
besides her own.
B. IX. MALE AND FEMALE. 505
creation, by Christ the second Adam ! For all beings having chap. T-
life, in either the natural or spiritual creation, have both a father
and a mother, according to the natural or spiritual state in
which they "live, move and have their being;'''' whether
that father, or that mother, be to them known, or unknown,
visible, or invisible. This ground is indisputable. This posi-
tion is unchangeable in all its bearings. And to this the
very existence of man, in the order of male and female, bears
witness.
9. Now, the Lord promised to create "new heavens, and anew lsa.ixv.17,
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,'''' which shall abide for- Dan7va.i8
ever ; and that the old heavens and earth shall pass aivay, and 27-. Rev-
come to an end. It is evident that this new creation, or kingdom 2 Pet iii.
of righteousness, shall be effected by the work of redemption 10> 13;
and regeneration through Christ, who was, and who is, the ^9"^. '
beginning of this new creation; emphatically called, the " Crea- 24- poi »'•
tion of God.'''' in' 14.
10. It will be proper to remark here, that, although Christ, by
Jesus, commenced the work of the new creation in his first appear-
ing ; yet, the promises, in regard to the perfect order of that
creation, were not then fulfilled. Nor could the everlasting king-
dom of righteousness be <;set up " and established in the earth,
until the " time appointed " of the Father , when the Mother Spirit
in Christ should be revealed, which completes the "desire of all
nations," when the second Eve should be made manifest on earth,
in the second "Anointed one:"
11. Thus, when "that which is perfect is come,'''' and the a ..
order of male and female, in the spiritual work of regeneration 7. ^Zech.'
should be completed; then, and not till then, could Christ's l^^x\
kingdom of righteousness and peace be set up and established 1 Cor. xiii.
on the earth. These things concerning Christ, having to be ful- j'^' ;;* 2
filled in a future day, was the very reason why that Divine Spirit & ^eb> ix-
should come the "second time."
12. Nothing could be more inconsistent, than for any one to
suppose that this new and spiritual creation, which is to abide
forever, can in any respect, be inferior to the order and glory of
the old, or natural creation, which is to pass away. The noblest
part of the creation is man. But the man alone, without the
woman, could not be the noblest work of God, because he would
be imperfect.
. 13. It was therefore necessary that he should have an help-
meet for him, a companion congenial to his being, and according
to the perfection of that order which existed before him. And,
as his creation could not be perfect without the woman ; so neither
could his redemption be perfect without the woman.
14. When the Lord Grod had created the heavens and the
earth, and all the hosts thereof, when he had formed the man,
33
506 THE ORDER OF DEITY, B. IX.
chap. I. an(j made him lord alone, over all the earth, '■'■God saw every-
thing that he had made, and behold it was very good." What,
then, could there be wanting ? Why, the very subject of our
present inquiry; the very object of our discourse; the woman
was still wanting ! There was yet this one thing lacking, and it
Gen. i. 31, was not good that it should be so. " The Lord God said, it is
"' 1S not good thai man should be alone, I will make him an help meet
for him."
15. And when Adam had given " names to all cattle, and to the
Gen. ii. 20. fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field, for Adam there
teas not found an help meet for him.'''' And this was the lonely
condition of Jesus Christ, in his first appearing ; and hence the
isa. lxiii. 3. words of his Holy Spirit by the Prophet : " I have trodden the
winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me."
But the Lord promised that he should have a Bride, for his
helper; and this promise, at the time appointed of the Father,
has been fully verified, as will be seen in the sequel.
16. It is not very material what opinions we may form, as to
what might have been the state and condition of Adam and Eve,
provided they, or either of them had not transgressed. But it
is of importance that we consider the first or natural creation to
be a similitude of the spiritual, "the first man Adam of the
earth a figure " of the second man, or last Adam, " the Lord from
heaven.''''
17. As, then, the first Adam was not complete, in the order of
natural generation, without Eve, the first mother of the human
race and children of this world ; so neither could the second
Adam be complete in the order of spiritual regeneration, with
out the second Eve, who of course would be manifested in the
"first begotten of the dead," in the line of the female, and be-
come the first mother of the redeemed, the children of the king-
dom of promise.
18. It is written, "As in Adam all die, even so in (not out
of) Christ shall all be made alive," How, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive ? Was it not through the disobedience of
the first woman Eve, that in the first Adam we all die ? Certainly
it was. Even so, then, through the obedience of the first woman
in the work of redemption in Christ, the second Adam, shall all
be made alive.
19. For, as the first Adam and Eve, and the line of their
progeny were one flesh, and "they that live after the flesh shall
die; " even so Christ, the second Adam and the second Eve, are
one Spirit, and they who, through that Spirit, mortify the deeds of
John,xi.26. the flesh, shall live ; and living they shall never die, because
they are born of the Spirit, through a spiritual Parentage, a
spiritual Father and a spiritual Mother.
20. The woman was the first in the transgression, but the
B. IX. MALE AND FEMALE. 507
man was equally in fault, if not more so, lie being the stronger chap. r
vessel ; and, it would be inconsistent with all the attributes of
Eternal Wisdom, that the daughter of earth, a being made in
her own image, and after her likeness, and designed to be on
earth, the glory and perfection of all the works of Cod, should
by one act of disobedience plunge herself and all her posterity
into sin and misery;
21. And yet, that, she in her own line and order, should for this
one act be forsaken and forgotten of her Lord and Creator, and
thus be prevented having any agency in the work of restoration
and redemption. We say, that, should such be the case, it would
be entirely inconsistent with all the attributes of the Eternal
Father and his Holy Wisdom.
22. But such is not the case : God promised, that, in the resti-
tution of all things, a woman should stand in her proper lot
and order, as the first Mother in the new creation, as Bride of the
Redeemer, and co-worker with him in the work of man's redemp-
tion, and thus, according to the promise of God, she now really iaa liy. l-
stands.
23. It is but true, however, that proud and fallen man with
vain and fleshly applause, and for no other than his own sinful
purposes, worships and adores the woman, and extols her even
above himself; and yet, that he has excluded her from having
any lot or agency ii> the work of his redemption. So inconsistent
is lost man.
24. And to this purpose he has been taught and supported,
by false religion, to misapply and pervert the inspired and pro-
phetic writings, which peculiarly and emphatically relate to the
woman, and to her lot and standing in the new creation, in the
Zion of Grod's likeness in the latter days. This they do, by in-
discriminately applying those prophecies to a personal Christ in
the male order! or, as indiscriminately to a mixed, impure and
compound body of males and females, called "the Church," or
to something to which the spirit of the Prophets had no kind of
allusion.
25. The first promise God made for the restoration of man
from the effects of the fall, was made to be accomplished through
the woman: That "she and her seed should crush the serpent's
head." Yet, plain and distinct as his promise is, "blind guides "
have perverted both the words and their meaning, by applying
the promise to " Christ" as being the seed of the woman.
26. How can Christ be the "seed of the woman? " Of what
woman was He the seed? Was Christ the seed of Mary, the
Mother of Jesus? That is impossible. But Jesus was created of
the nature of fallen man, the seed of Abraham, through his preter-
natural Mother, Mary, in order that, through the power of
Christ manifested in him, he might crucify and put the serpentine
508 THE ORDER OF DEITY, B. IX.
chap. i. nature to death, by nailing it to the cross ! And thus did he open
Hei). ii. the way of redemption from "sin and death " and from the curse
W5-... of the law"
John, viii. J , , _ , . , , x-n •-
37,44,Rom. 27. And the Lord said to the serpent: "I will put enmities
8V'iCor'iv between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: She
21. Gai. iii. [and her seed] shall crush thy head and thou shall lie in wait for
10-14, iv. 4, t i. i *
5. Eph. ii. her heel. *
15, 16, & 28. However, the ages of the world may pass away before all
Gen. iii! is. the promises of God shall be fulfilled: yet his faithfulness can
never fail. Four thousand years had passed away before the
Messiah appeared — still he did appear as predicted of him, and
finished the work which the Father had given him for the time
being.
29. And in like manner, thousands of years had passed away,
since the promise was made in the garden of Eden, concerning
the woman; and the promised Saviour had come, and gone again
from mortal view, when by the revelation of Jesus Christ to his
beloved John, there was shown in vision, the particular and
peculiar character of the " woman and her seed" unto whom the
promise was made.
Rev. xii. i, 30. Here was seen, "A woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars ;
and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to
be delivered." This vision represented -Holy Wisdom, the
Eternal Mother, who brought forth the " man-child," the Christ,
who first appeared in the male order; and which the Dragon
sought to devour.
31. The Dragon here represented the spirit of persecution,
which began in Herod's seeking to destroy the child, and con-
tinued to operate in various stages with increased violence, until
the primitive Church was cast down to the earth. Then this
Christ Spirit was caught up from the apostate Church to God and
his throne, out of the reach of the serpent, ready (in due season)
to appear the second time, in and with his Bride.
32. And after the war of Michael and his angels, by which the
Dragon and his angels were cast out of heaven, that is from the
Luke, xix. regions where Christ had established his kingdom, in the world
of spirits ; then the Eternal Mother brought forth her own like-
ness and representative, the Mother Spirit of Christ, in the
Rev. xii.14. woman, to whom " was given the two wings of a great eagle, that
she might fly to her place, from the face of the serpent."
33. This is the woman, the Daughter, in the likeness of the
Eternal Mother, even as the Son was in the likeness of the
Eternal Father. And when this Daughter, who had now become
•We have preferred the "Douay" translation of this text, because it is the
most correct, and easj to be understood. The brackets contain the true and full
meaning.
17.
B. IX. MALE AND FEMALE. 509
the Mother of the new creation, had escaped from the serpent's chap. i.
power, she was nourished in her place in the wilderness, until the
time of her manifestation.
34. But here likewise, we shall see the enmity of the serpent, Rev xii-
for the Dragon was wroth, and went to make war against that
woman, and against her seed, which are plainly described, and
testified to be those "which keep the commandments of God, and
hate the testimony of Jesus Christ." This is the woman, and
these are her seed, who should " crush the serpent's head."
35. No figure, no similitude, no language need be stronger than
this, to show that the true followers of Jesus Christ are the true
seed of the woman ; and that they have not only a Father, but
that they likewise have a Mother who consequently is one of the
" two Anointed Ones," — the first Mother in the new creation, and
of the children of the promise ; the Bride of the Lamb, and hence
the first Mother of the children of the regeneration, or second birth.
36. And this woman who should be, and who has been made
manifest on the earth, " and dwelt among us," was declared to
be the chosen and anointed of God, by signs and mighty power,
and by "many infallible proofs." The evidences of these truths
are established in the lives of all true hearted and understanding
believers in the present manifestation of God, and remain as a
growing witness, and a living testimony to all people.
37. It is a great error to suppose, as the expositors of the
Scriptures have done, that the woman clothed with the sun "is
the Gospel Church" What Gospel Church? Why, the "One
Catholic Universal Church," who profess the Christian name
throughout the earth, no doubt ! But how can this Church, this
compound body of male and female, who are joined together in
" one flesh," who live after the common course of the world, in
the lusts of concupiscence, and works of natural generation, and
who bring forth seed " after the flesh :"
38. We ask, how can such a compound body "in the flesh,"
be the " woman clothed with the sun ? " How can such a Church,
be with child of a spiritual seed? and how can it bring forth
" spiritual children, which keep the commandments of God, arid
have the testimony of Jesus Christ?" There can be no such
thing.
39. But when the Church shall be clothed with the " Sun of
Righteous?iess ; when Christ shall ivalk and dwell in her, and
she in him ; when she has the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye, and the pride of life," with all the elements of an earthly,
sinful and fallen nature, under her feet; and when moreover she
has on her head a croton of dominion and government, composed
of all the twelve virtues of pure and genuine Christianity ; then
indeed, (and not till then), will she be the true Church of Christ,
the " pure Gospel Church." And then, indeed, will she be the
510
THE ORDER OF DEITY,
E. IX.
CHAP. I.
Rev. xxi. 2.
Gal. iv. 26.
Zio?i of God's likeness on earth, and the true offspring of the
" woman clothed with the sun."
40. There is likewise another great error in these natural
See Isa.
xxviii. 16.
Eph. ii.20.
Col. i. 16,
18.
See Mat.
43 1 Pet.
ii. 4, 9.
expositors of the Scriptures. They say, the "Holy City, New
Jerusalem," is the "Bride, the Lamb's wife;" that the Bride of
the "Church," and that this Church is the "Mother of the
saints ! " How can all that be ? How can that holy city, that city
with walls and gates, be the Bride ? If the Bride be a walled
city, then with the strictest propriety and reason, the Bridegroom
must also be a walled city. Otherwise, what must become of the
harmony which is so manifest in all the works of God ?
41. But what man on earth, (whether he be a wise man or a
fool), would ever think of looking out for a city to be his bride,
his wife ? what man on earth, who would not look out for a more
consistent companion ? an object more like himself ; more agree-
able to his own nature, and more congenial to his own existence
and happiness ?
42. No man on earth, would ever dream of espousing a city
to be his bride, even though the city, like the heavenly Jerusa-
lem itself, were "pure gold," its walls of "precious stones," and
its gates of " pearl." And yet these expositors, commentators,
and priests, have palmed upon the " everlasting Father " of the
" new creation" a city for his Bride.
43. Instead of the true Bride, they have palmed upon the true
Bridegroom, a false and fictitious bride, of their own invention ;
and hence they have "robbed him of his glory." They have
palmed upon him for his Bride, a city, of which he, the Bride-
groom himself, was and is the "beginning, the foundation, and
chief corner stone ! " or Head of the corner in this living building.
How then could the Bridegroom be his own Bride ?
44. The true meaning of " Bridegroom," is, a man newly
married, or a man about to be married." And the true meaning
of " Bride," is, a "woman newly married, or espoused, or con-
tracted to be married." All well know what is meant by the
words Bridegroom and Bride.
45. How, and why is it then, that these divines so called, these
learned expositors, commentators, and priests, have so rudely
perverted these words from their proper and well known meaning ?
They seem to think that in the Scriptures, the word Bridegroom
means but little or nothing.
46. They tacitly allow the Bridegroom to be a Father, but
without a corresponding Mother, and that in Scripture the word
Bride means but a stone ! or at most a city ! For this is the
amount of all the expositions and comments concerning the Bride-
groom and Bride. The Bridegroom, to be sure, is a Father, who
of course has children ; but these children have no Mother, except
a city ! A walled city for a Mother !
Rev. v.
vii.9.
Eph. v. 23,
30-32.
B. IX. MALE AND FEMALE. 511
47. But O, no ! these expositors will say, we do not mean chap. r-
to be understood to say that the city, (New Jerusalem) merely
itself, is the Bride, but the inhabitants of the city, "the saints
and Church are the Bride," and the " Church and saints are the
Mother!" But how does this better the case? The saints
constitute the Church, and the question is, how can the saints be
their own Mother ?
48. The saints, it will not be denied, whether in the body or
out of the body, are male and female, who are redeemed out of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." These are
the inhabitants of the holy city, New Jerusalem. These con-
stitute the true Church, and are the body of Christ, and mem- icor. xii.
bers in particular, every member in its own proper place and office ; ^ ^coLil
and of which body, Christ himself, the true Bridegroom, is the ls^fc
Head.
49. Now, how can these saints, male as well as female, and of
every nation and kindred, who constitute the body of Christ, or his
Church, how can these various members of his own body be his
Bride? Are they not his children? Are they not in him, and
by him begotten with the "Spirit and word of life ?" and is he
not therefore their Father ? Unquestionably he is. As, then, the
saints, the true children of the regeneration have in Christ a spir-
itual Father, by whom they are begotten, from " aeath unto life;''''
so must they likewise have in Christ, a spiritual Mother, by whom
they are "born again" and brought forth in the new and spirit-
ual birth.
50. That the new creation might be complete in its orders, was
the very reason why the "marriage of the Lamb " with his Bride
was contemplated and promised. This marriage, or spiritual
union and oneness, between the Bridegroom and his Bride, was
to constitute, and did constitute a spiritual and heavenly Parent-
age, the ancestry and true origin of all the children of the
regeneration. For without this spiritual Parentage, none of
the fallen race could ever have been "regenerated," none could
ever have been " born again" none could ever have seen "the John, in. 3
kingdom of God."
51. If we do not admit the consistency of a full and complete
Parentage, Father and Mother, in the new creation, as well as in
the old, how could there be any offspring, or increase in the family
of Christ? How can the saints and Church, who must pass
through the second birth, be the Mother ? Can the children of
the regeneration and of the new birth, be their own Mother ? Can
the saints have a Father, and at the same time be their own
Mother? Can they be the Mother of their own existence?
There can be no such thing. While, therefore, we rationally
believe in the distinct existence of a Father, why should we not
as rationally believe in the distinct existence of a Mother ?
512
CHRIST MANIFESTED IN THE
B. IX.
CHAPTER II.
CHRIST MANIFESTED IN THE ORDER OF MALE AND
FEMALE.
Mark
18-20,
chap. II. It cannot be denied that Christ Jesus was a Bridegroom, in
the true and spiritual sense of the word ; and that he contem-
plated and designed a future marriage and union with his
Bride. His various parables on that subject, and the declara-
tions of his Spirit afterwards, are too plain and interesting to be
overlooked. All the allusions are to a future day ; particularly
to his second coming.
2. The disciples of John and of the Pharisees, came to Jesus
and asked him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the
Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? Jesus answered,
"Can the children of the bride-chamber fast, while the bride-
groom is with them ? But the days will come when the bride-
groom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast
iu those days." This shows that the time would come when he
would be absent from his people or witnesses ; and has particular
reference to the long reign of antichrist and days of desolation,
which followed the fall of the primitive Church.
3. But at the end of those days, at the second coming of
Christ, at midnight, i.e. in the most gloomy time of antichristian
darkness, there was aery made, " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ;
go ye out to meet him." " The Bridegroom came ; and they that
were ready went in with him to the marriage." Again, "The
kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a
Mat. xxv.
6, JO.
Mat. xxii.
2-
2 Cor. v. 19.
Rev. xix.
7,9.
•rage for his son:
1 Who was that certain king, but God
manifested in Christ, the quickening Spirit; "God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself: " and who was that Son but
Christ, as manifested in Jesus, who, when he had received the
new birth of that Spirit, became the Bridegroom ?
4. And again, " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to
him ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath
made herself ready. And said the angel, write, Blessed are
they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he
saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." There is not
another prophecy in all the sacred book more positive than this
of the "marriage of the Lamb," nor any prophecy more
solemnly confirmed.
5. It is surely evident, that, as the Bridegroom is the Head of
his spiritual body, the Church ; and as the Head of the body is
pre-eminently distinct from all the other members of the body ;
B. IX. ORDER OP MALE AND FEMALE. 513
so likewise must be the Bride : for the Bridegroom and his Bride CHAP- IL
can form but the one Head of the body of Christ : even as in a
natural family, the father and mother in strict propriety, constitute
conjointly, and in union, but the one and only proper head of that
family. But the children who compose the family cannot be
the father, nor can they be the mother. So neither can the
children of the family of Christ be the Bridegroom, nor can they
be the Bride, the Lamb's wife.
6. It cannot be denied that the woman, in her own proper
place and order, is as peculiarly an object of distinction in God's
creation and government, as the man. Nor can it rationally be
denied, that in the Church, or body of Christ, the Bride is as
peculiarly an object of distinction, as the Bridegroom.
7. And therefore all the members of the body of Christ, con- See i Cor.
stitute but one body ; and each member being in its own proper *"• 12 2°-
place and office, like the members of the human body, no one
member can assume the place and office of another. Thus the
Father has his place and office in the body, as the Head; and
so, conjointly with him, in unity and in one Spirit, has the
Mother her place.
8. Now the life of the body, the quickening Spirit, which is SeeiCor.
Christ, proceeds from the mutual existence and influence of the xv'
Eternal Parents ; and therefore being its life, pertains equally to
the female as to the male ; or, in other words, Christ, the Anoint-
ing Spirit, proceeding from the Eternal Parents, and being male
and female, "pertains equally to the first begotten Daughter in
the new creation, as to the first begotten Son." And from them
as the Head and joint Parentage, the same holy Anointing Spirit,
proceeding to their children of the regeneration, they become
baptised into Christ, and constitute his only true body, both in
heaven and on earth.
9. To this spiritual union and correspondent relation, between
the two first Parents in the new creation, the Scripture pro-
phecies, have many and particular allusions. Many sublime and
prophetic figures were used to point out this union and relation
between the two, in the work of redemption which were to be
accomplished in ages then to come, as the two cherubims, whose Ex. xxv.
wings covered the mercy seat, between which the Lord would 18> 22-
commune with his chosen people.
10. Likewise, the two olive trees, the two olive branches, the Zech. iv.3,
two golden pipes, the two anointed ones. Also, the two witnesses, Rev xi 3
the two candlesticks ; and the " tree of life" in two orders, one ^fcxrii.
"on either side of the river of the water of life."
11. To no individual person, nor to any personages whatever, See l Tim.
from the beginning to the end of time, can these prophetic p^kiv.ii
figures be applied ; save only to Christ, the quickening Spirit, and n.
to their first born Son and Daughter, the Lord Jesus and Mother
514 CHRIST MANIFESTED IN THE B. IX.
chap, it. Ann, who of God are blessed forevermore — yea, forever and
ever.
12. By this spiritual union and relation, between the Two
Gal. iii. 28. Anointed Ones, it may be seen how it is, that in Christ, there is
neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor
female (according to the flesh). Because, they that are in Christ,
See Rom. and Christ in them, are risen into newness of life.'1'' " They
^'„4- ,„ through Christ are dead to the rudiments of the world,'''' and
Col. ii. 20, therefore there can be no more any union or relationship, after
ilL *' 10- the flesh.
13. And hence it is, that the union and relationship, between
the male and female, after the flesh, is forever abolished and
dissolved, by their union with Christ, through the baptism of that
one anointing Spirit, by which all in Christ are created anew ;
and by which baptism of the Holy Spirit, the union and relation-
ship between male and female is made as much superior to the
union and enjoyment of beings in the state and order of a cor-
rupt and fallen nature, as the finest gold is superior to the
meanest dross.
14. For all who are not fully baptised into Christ, (that is,
all who are not baptised into the Spirit of the two Anointed Ones),
but remain in the nature, fellowship and works, of male and
Rom. viii. female after the flesh, remain also under the power of sin and
13- death. Whereas, all that are baptised into the fullness of Christ,
with both the male and female spirit of the two Anointed Ones,
have their union and fellowship with God, in the order of celestial
beings, who are redeemed from the earth, and whose conversation
is in heaven.
Phil. iii. 20. 15. We have seen, that in the natural creation of man, he
was made male and female, and that these two were one flesh.
But by the breath of life from his Creator, he became a living
soul, and being made in the image of Grod, male and female and the
l Cor. xv. figure of the second man Adam, who is a quickening Spirit ; " all
' V1' ' that are baptised into Christ, male and female, are no more one
in the flesh, but one in the spirit. And as through the spirit
^ee Jo n, ^hey are one ivith the Father and the So?i. So likewise are they
one with the Mother and Daughter.
16. For, as the second Adam is a quickening Spirit, so conse-
quently is the second Eve a quickening Spirit. And therefore,
when we speak of the Father and Mother of our redemption,
we allude not to the natural personages of the two Anointed Ones,
except as manifesters, but we allude to the Father Spirit, by
which we are begotten, and to the Mother Spirit, by which we
are conceived and brought forth in the new creation and spirit-
ual state, and prepared for a celestial state of existence, which
Spirit was revealed in them.
17. As it is not possible that there can be any offspring or
B. IX. ORDER OP MALE AND FEMALE. 515
increase in the human family, without a natural mother, so chap, ii.
neither is it possible that there can be any offspring, or any in-
crease in the family of Christ, without a spiritual Mother ; since
the natural is a figure of the spiritual, and Deity is in that order,
and all the works of creation came forth accordingly.
18. Not the existence of male and female in the man alone,
but all creation, in both the animal and vegetable kingdoms, the
fishes that swim in the seas, the birds that fly in the air, yea, the
very herbs and flowers of the field, all demonstrate and establish
this fact, namely: That all living creation is supported and
advanced through the female order.
19. And that therefore the female is the crowning glory, and
perfects the creative works of God. Hence also, in the work of
man's redemption from the fall, without the co-operating influence
of the female, the way of full redemption could never have been
known ; nor could any soul ever have been born again, nor have
inherited the kingdom of God.
20. It is believed and acknowledged that we must be born
again, or never see the kingdom of God, that is, to see and
experience it in our own souls. It is believed and acknowledged
likewise, that Christ the second Adam is, and must be, the Father
of all who are born again — of all the children of the second or
spiritual birth ; but how can these be born again, without a
Mother ? Can a father beget and also conceive, and bear, and
bring forth children? There can be no such thing, either in
heaven or on earth.
21. In the day that God created man, in the image and like- Gen. i. 27,
of God made he him ; male and female created he them ; and v' '
called their name Adam." What can be plainer than this, to
show that the male and female are one. That they are one in
nature and essence, in the likeness of their Creator ? What can
be plainer than this, to show that man could not, and consequently
did not exist without the woman ?
22. As therefore the first Adam was a figure of Christ, the Rom.v. 14.
second Adam, how could it be otherwise than that Christ,
the second Adam, should also be made manifest in the order of Co1 m- 10
male and female ? He likewise being in the likeness, and " after places.
the image of Him that created him."
23. If it could be consistently shown how Adam could have
both begotten and brought forth children, and peopled the earth
without Eve, or before the time that the woman should stand in
her own proper lot and order, as the " mother of all living ;" then
it might be consistently shown, how Christ the second Adam,
without the woman, could both beget and bring forth a spiritual
offspring, to people the '•'•new heavens and the new earth,'''' by
the '■'■second birth.'9 But this can never be shown.
24. All the order and laws of creation, natural and spiritual,
516 CHRIST MANIFESTED IN THE B. IX.
chap. ii. establish and confirm, not the existence merely, but the lot and
office of the Mother, as distinctly as that of the Father. There-
fore, no walled nor unwalled city, no inhabitants or any mixed
multitude of any city, no associated or compound body of males
and females, called the Church, can constitute or be this Mother.
Nor can any of these be the "Bride, the Lamb's wife."
25. It is true the female is frequently used as a figure, to rep-
resent a whole people, a nation, or a city, as daughter of Egypt,
daughter of the Chaldeans, daughter of Jerusalem, &c. But
this is no reason why every particular prophecy alluding to
Christ's second coming in the female, should be so construed
and applied, as blind guides, commentators, and priests have done,
and still continue to do.
Rev.xxi. 26. In John's vision of a "neiv heaven and a new earth" he
*' 2' saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, "prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband." And the angel who conversed with John
ver. 9, io. said, " Come hither, I will shoio thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife."
And he carried him away in the spirit to a great and high moun-
tain, and showed him that "great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God."
27. But this great and holy city was no more the Bride than
it was the Bridegroom. It was no more the Lamb's wife than it
was the Lamb himself. The city was adorned, to be sure, " as
a bride for her husband." But what was that adorning! Why,
See Ezek. such as was becoming the place of God's throne. It was adorned
xiiii. 7. with a wall garnished with all manner of precious stones, with
gates of pearl, and the streets transparent gold. And it was
adorned, moreover, with the light and glory of God, and the
Lamb.
28. This is the adorning and description of the beloved city.
But let it be observed that the adorning, and the attire of the
Rev. xix. s. Bride, had been before described. " To her it was granted that
Paa.xiv.il, she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints." She was adorned with
beauty, her clothing toas of wrought gold, her raiment of needle
toork, and she was, moreover, all glorious within. What dis-
tinction between any two objects can be more evident than the
distinction between the holy city and the Bride, the Lamb's wife ?
29. There can be no doubt, that the beloved John, in his
vision of the New Jerusalem, when he saw there the Lamb, he
Rev xxii saW there his Bride als0 > f°r the SPirit> i>e- Christ and .the Bride
17. ' were there, calling souls to partake of the waters of lifefreely.
Nor can we have any reasonable doubt, that at the marriage in
john,ii.n. Cana of Galilee, when Jesus "manifested forth his glory," he
there took occasion to give his disciples a spiritual view of his
Bride, and of his own future marriage ; and his disciples believed
on him.
B. IX. ORDER OF MALE AND FEMALE. 517
30. There is no dispute that the prophecy and the descriptions chap, ir.
given in the forty-fifth psalm, from beginning to end, allude to
Christ and his kingdom. But commentators have committed a
great error in applying to the Church, the latter part of the
prophecy, concerning " the Daughter.'1''
31. • The prophecy is in two distinct parts ; the first part alludes
to the " King," or that particular and individual personage who
is called the "Son," as was confirmed by St. Paul. The second Heb. 1,8.
part alludes as distinctly to the " Queen" as to another particu-
lar and individual personage, who is called the Daughter.
32. The descriptions given by the holy Spirit of prophecy,
first of the So?i, and then of the Daughter, are so plain and
distinct, as in their accomplishment to admit of no manner of
doubt in their application. While allowing the Son here spoken
of to be the Christ or the Anointed of God, in the male order,
and allowing also that he is the Father and first Founder of his
Church, both in heaven and on earth, it is the extreme of incon-
sistency, an egregious error, at the same time to suppose, as
commentators and priests have done, that the Daughter here
spoken of is that Church. But " charity shall cover a multitude
of errors." For how could any know the true Bride until she
was revealed ?
33. This prophecy concerning the Daughter, is peculiarly in-
teresting to Believers of the present day, as it not only particu-
larly alludes to the Mother and her children, but also because
of its immediate and intimate connection with the most important
prophecies that relate to the work of redemption, and the increase,
purity, order, beauty, and glory of the Church of Christ in the
latter day. It may not be amiss, therefore, to pay some atten-
tion to the most essential passages, as beyond all doubt or con-
tradiction, have been fulfilled, and are still being fulfilled in this
our day, as follows :
34. "Hearken, O Daughter, and consider, and incline thine psa. xv.
ear ; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so 10i 17
shall the King greatly desire thy beauty ; for he is thy Lord ;
and worship thou him. ' * * The King's Daughter is all
glorious within ; her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall
be brought unto the King in raiment of needle work ; the virgins
her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto the King.
With glad?iess and rejoicing shall they be brought : they shall
enter into the King's palace. Instead of thy father's, shall be
thy children, whom thou may est make princes in all the earth."
35. These are the words of the Divine Spirit of prophecy, in
relation to that peculiar personage whom we call "Mother."
And in her, and in her spiritual offspring of the present day, they
were and are fulfilled, and are still being fulfilled. In obedience
to the revelation and will of God, and in love to the Lord her
518
CHRIST MANIFESTED IN THE
B. IX.
Hosea, ii.
14, 15. com-
pared with.
Rev.xii. 14.
Ex. xv. 20.
Jer. xxxi.
12, 13.
Isa xxii.
32.
Jer. xxxi.
32.
chap. ii. Redeemer, whom she worshipped and served, she did forsake her
own people and her father's house. She left also the land of
oppression, and fled to this wilderness, the land of freedom, as the
Lord directed her.
36. In this particular, God fulfilled through her, the promise
made to his Church and people of the latter days: "Behold I
will allure her, and, bring her into the wilderness, and, speak
comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from
thence, and the valley of Achor," [the confession of sins,] "for a
door of hope; and she shall sing there as in the days of her
youth.''''
37. By her faithfulness and her toils ; by her cross-hearing
and self-denying life; by the persecutions, and deprivations, and
imprisonments, she endured for the testimony of Christ against
the hidden works and abominations of fallen man ; and by her
sorrows and sufferings of soul ; her incessant tears and cries to
God ; she became a sanctified and " chosen vessel unto the Lord; "
to "do his work, his strange work ; and bring to pass his act,
his strange act : " and that in her, the word of God, by the Pro-
phet Jeremiah might be fulfilled, which says, " The Lord hath
created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a
man.'1''
38. Through the valley of humiliation and sufferings she was
brought; in the furnace of affliction she was tried, until her soul
became cleansed and purified ; and being thus prepared, she
became the fit tabernacle and the abode of the "only begotten''''
Daughter of the Most High, the faithful witness ; and the true
representative of the Eternal Mother."
39. Hence she was filled with the power and gifts of God ;
with charity and love ; with the gifts of visions, of songs, of
tongues, of revelation, and of prophecy ; with the gift of wisdom,
and the fear of the Lord; with the gift of discerning spirits, and
the moral state and condition of man; as also, with the gift of
repentance, and of the knowledge of the mind and will of God.
40. Beins: thus endowed with the sifts of God from above, and
clothed with the garments of salvation ; she was consequently
" all glorious within" and her "beauty'''' became the desire of
the King, her Husband — her Spouse !
41. "Her clothing was of wrought gold," the bright emblem
of purity, of truth, of "durable riches and righteousness,"
obtained (from her Holy and Eternal Mother) through the
furnace of affliction, trials, and sufferings. " Her raiment was of
needle work," the emblem of industry, of skill, of faithfulness;
with all those heavenly virtues with which she was adorned, and
which insured her union and acceptance with her Lord the King,
Zech. ix. 9. who is the "King of Zion."
42. " The virgins, her companions that follow her, shall be
B. IX.
ORDER OP MALE AND FEMALE.
519
John, xvii.
21.
brought unto the King." This shows that she is a Leader, and chap, ii.
a Guide, in union and in fellowship with Jesus Christ the Saviour,
her Redeemer, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. And that
her followers are his followers, for " they shall enter into the
King's palace,'''' and "they shall sit with him hi his throne." Rev.iii. 21.
43. Besides, the virgins her followers, being her companions,
show that oneness of spirit and interest, throughout the family
of Christ, for which he so earnestly prayed, " that they all may
be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us."
44. " The whole of this beautiful prophecy, goes to show the
influence and dominion of the "Daughter," in connection and in
fellowship with the " Son." " Instead of thy Fathers, shall be
thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.'"
What can be plainer than this, to show that she is indeed a
Mother ? What can be more clearly expressed, to show that her
children are the same ; that her followers are the same — the very
same, and no other, than those who through Christ the anointing
of the Holy One, "are made unto God kings and priests; and See Rev. i.
shall reign on the earth." ?> 1V- 10< &
45. Hence it was that the Holy Spirit gave utterance concern- 27.
ing the Mother — the Queen, who is the likeness of the only
begotten Daughter of the Most High, and stands with the King:
"I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore, shall the people praise thee forever and ever." And
even thus it is ; for if her children, the virgins — her cross-bear-
ing, and self-denying followers; "if these should hold their
peace, would not the stones immediately cry out?" And let it
be remembered, that all things concerning Christ, whether in the
line of the male or the female, which were written in the Law
of Moses and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, must be
fulfilled."
46. We have thus reviewed that important and interesting pro-
phecy concerning the " Daughter" — the Mother of the children
of the regeneration, in order to have a fair and correct view of
the character through which Christ must needs manifest himself
at his second coming. And the proofs and evidences, that he
actually and truly has come the " second time," and at the time
and in the manner predicted of him, are as strong and " infallible "
as they were of his first coming ! "
47. The Daughter did "hearken." In obedience to God, and
as a true and faithful Mother to her children, she left the land
of her fathers, and her father's house: And her children — her
followers, who have believed and embraced her testimony of the
way of life, and received her Spirit ; these are the living monu-
ments of the existence, and of the true character of their Mother;
and the living witnesses also, of the truth of God and of his pro-
See Luke,
xix. 40.
xxiv. 44.
520 CHRIST MANIFESTED IN THE, &C. B. IX.
chap, ii. mises, that they (her children) have been made "princes in the
earth," as to the followers of Christ it was promised that this
should be.
48. For, it will not be disputed, that this princely dominion
promised to the saints, at the setting up of Christ's kingdom in
the latter days, is the dominion over all the powers of evil ; a
John, i. 29. dominion over sin and death [the sins of the world] ; over hell
and the grave ; a dominion in Christ's kingdom of righteousness
and peace ; a dominion which the princes and nobles of the earth
have never obtained; and which neither they, nor any of the
fallen race can ever obtain, except they be converted, and become
as " a little child;" except they become "regenerated;" ex-
cept they find the " second birth," and are " born again" of the
Spirit, and through the agency of a spiritual Parentage: a
spiritual Father, and a spiritual Mother.
49. How strange it is ; indeed, how marvellous it is, that the
man shall possess such love and veneration for the woman, as to
forsake his father and his mother, and all his natural kindred,
and even the land of his nativity, and that he should forego all
earthly comforts besides, for the sake of her enjoyment, and yet,
that he should scorn the idea of her having any eminent agency
in the work of his redemption.
50. How strange it is, that any man possessing a religious
education and belief, should be so inconsistent and unmanly as
not to allow the woman the privilege and right given her by Grod,
(in promise) to wipe out the stain from herself and posterity
which her first transgression had caused, and in which trans-
gression and the consequent guilt, the man himself was, and con-
tinues to be a partaker.
51. But it is still a greater marvel that woman-kind, (any
woman), should be so far lost from her primary state of inno-
cence, as to harbor and maintain a spirit ot opposition to the
plan devised by the Holy and Eternal wisdom, for her redemption
Gen. hi. 16. from the fall, and from the curse !
52. It is marvelous indeed, that either man or woman, pro-
fessing faith in the Scriptures, and in the promises of God,
should be so wilfully blind, as not to see the undeviating harmony
in all the predictions of the Prophets, and from beginning to
end of the sacred book, in relation the lot and office of the
woman, in the work of man's ultimate and final redemption.
53. That, as in one spirit, in fellowship, and as a co-worker
Seeisaliv w^j1 t^e £i0r(i her Head and Redeemer, she should stand in
her own proper lot and order for the redemption of the fallen
race; that she and her seed should crush the serpent's head,;
that she should be a Queen, the Bride of the King of kings;
that she should be a Mother, whose children should all be virgins,
whom she might make "princes in the earth," and who should
B. IX. APPEARING OF CHRIST, &C. * 521
be made "kings and priests unto God." Strange, we say, that chap. in.
any man or woman living, should be unwilling to see all this. See Rev_
54. How could predictions have been more plain ? How v- 10-
could prophecies have been more consistent and sure, to show,
that, as the first manifestation of Christ commenced in the person
of a male, his second manifestation, or coming should commence
in the person of &fe?nale? For thus alone could the promises of
God, in regard to man's final redemption, ever have been fulfilled:
And thus alone, could the order, beauty and glory of the new
creation, ever have been accomplished and brought to perfection.
CHAPTER III.
REVELATIONS CONCERNING THE APPEARING OF CHRIST,
IN THE LINE OF THE FEMALE.
Many are the prophecies recorded in the Scriptures in relation
to that day called the "latter day of glory" in which Christ
should appear in the " clouds of heaven" (the element of bis
saints) "with power and great glory;" and this manifestation
of Christ should commence in the line of the female. For, as
his first coming was manifested in the male line, his work could
only advance in that order during that Dispensation.
2. And from this cause it was, that the woman was not
permitted to have her proper share in ministration and govern-
ment in the primitive Church. But in the second appearing of
Christ, and in the fulfillment of the prophecies in relation to the
proper lot and standing of the woman in the new creation, that
barrier is removed. She, by her obedience, being "redeemed
from under the curse" and released from under the " bondage of
the flesh" which her disobedience and transgression had caused.
3. In addition to the prophecies relating to this interesting
subject we have had in review, there are a few more (among the
many) which are worthy of some particular notice. That remark-
able prophetic passage, " The Lord hath created a new thing in Jer. xxxi.
the earth, a woman shall compass a man," has been rudely mis-
construed, and misapplied. The learned Protestant commen-
tators, say, that "The Virgin Mary compassed a man, when she
conceived, retained in her womb, and brought forth the Son of
God in our nature."
34
32
522
APPEARING OP CHRIST
B. IX.
CHAP. III.
See Isa. li.
1.
Isa. ix. 2.
See Mat.
chap, xxiii
& xxij;. in
connection
with the
Prophets.
4. What astonishing blindness and inconsistency ! What man
was ever brought forth into the world, since the creation and
fall of Adam, who has not been compassed by a womanl and
brought forth in "our nature" (the nature of the fallen race,)
in the same manner ? And what of all this, is it the creating a
new thing in the earth ?
5. Every human being, male and female, have been "con-
ceived, retained in the womb, and brought, forth" into the world
by the woman; the mother of all living; " and the Virgin Mary
with the rest. What truth or consistency, then, is there in apply-
ing this prophecy : A woman shall compass a man, to the Virgin
Mary? Not the least. Besides, neither the Virgin Mary, (nor
any other woman) ever conceived and brought forth a man, but
a child! even the "child Jesus." And if Mary at any period,
and in any sense of the word, could be said to have compassed
the " child Jesus," it cannot in reason and truth be said, that she
ever compassed the "man Christ Jesus."
6. The learned Catholic commentators, in their Douay trans-
lation of the Bible, have not ventured any opinion or comment on
the above noted passage of prophecy ; but they have placed the
words, " A woman shall compass a man," in large capitals, from
which it is inferred, that they likewise, as well as the Protestants,
suppose it to allude to the Virgin Mary, and that in her it was
fulfilled.
7. But it has just been shown, that this idea is without any
ground of reason ; very distant from the truth ; a weak and in-
consistent supposition. If however, we will bear in mind the
pit of great darkness from which 2ve ourselves have been dug ;
If we consider the many ages in which antichrist has had his
dreary reign over the souls of men, by falsely assuming the name
and profession of the true Christ, we shall not so much wonder
at the extreme blindness of commentators and priests, while
under antichrist's dominion. And in this too, are the prophecies
fulfilled, as well as in regard to the particular subject we are
upon: For "darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness
the people." And so it was in Christ's first appearing, and so it
should be in his second coming.
8. It is evident, from prophecy, that the character and "wo-
man" here prophesied of, is a peculiar and leading object in the
•new creation, or work of redemption : And it is the truth, that
she is the same object, the same character, with the woman rep-
resented as the "Daughter" the "Queen" the "Bride, the
hamVs wife." And that she is in consequence, the first Mother
of the redeemed in the "new heavens and new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness."
9. What is meant by the prophecy, " A woman shall compass
a man," is surely not difficult to understand ; it is simply neither
B. IX. IN THE FEMALE ORDER. 523
more nor less than this: to discern, to compreke?id, and to chap. in.
/mow by the gift of God what is in man ; to discern and know seeJoim.
the thoughts and motives of the heart, and the true state and ^- 24>.25-
condition of his soul. 4. '
10. "Jesus knew all men; and needed not that any should
testify of man; for he knew what ivas in mail." And that this
gift — the spirit of comprehension and discernment , and of the
knowledge of mankind, was as proper and necessary to be pos-
sessed by the Daughter as by the Son ; by the female as by the
male, no reasonable person will attempt to deny.
11. Much is said in the Prophets concerning the "Branches,"
which uncpuestionably alludes to Jesus Christ and Mother Ann,
and to their great and glorious work of redemption in the earth,
to be accomplished in the line of both the male and the female.
For, as the female is a constituent part of the male; and man
could never have been complete in his manhood without her. So
his state and condition could never have been "happy" or
"glorious," without the correspondence of the female, in a state
of nature, and much less in a state of grace. This is a self-
evident matter.
12. Now, as the man is the image and glory of God, and the
woman is the glory of the man, and as the man is not without iCor. xi. 7,
the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord; there-
fore, "the man [Christ Jesus,] whose name is the Branch," is
not without the constituent and perfecting part of his manhood,
namely: the woman, standing in a correspondent spiritual rela-
tion to the man, in dignity and office.
13. We see the two olive trees, and two olive branches, which
are the two anointed ones ; and the Lord promised, saying,
"The counsel of peace, [which is the river and water of life],
shall be between them both." Thus it is that the "two Anointed
ones," are in spirit but one; even as the Eternal Father and
Mother are one; and which is also signified by the one "tree of
life, on either side of the river of the waters of life."
14. And likewise, the " crowns," (not in the singular, but in
the plural number, crowns), of silver and gold, set upon the
head of Joshua," who is here a prophetic type or figure of the
Saviour, in the fullness and perfection of his manhood, male and Read diii-
female, and which crowning of Joshua with crowns, implies and fompare.
signifies the crowning of the "two Anointed ones," as King and Zech.iii.8,
o o ' ° 1 0 " i v 3 7
Queen of Zion, who by the one Anointing Spirit, Christ, Joshua 11,12, ii;'
the Saviour, whose name is " the Branch," shall " build the tern- ]!, \l: l2'
pie of the Lord," in the latter days, when "ye shall call every Rev. xi. 4,
man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree."
15. Let it be particularly observed here, that the first
"Anointed one" is in the male order, and is called the "chief
corner stone," in this spiritual temple. And that the second
524
APPEARING OF CHRIST
B. IX.
chap. in.
Isa. xxvui.
1G.
Zech. iv. 7.
Isa. iv. 2
See Zech.
vi. 13.
Hag. ii 7.
Jer. xxiii.5,
6.
Jer. xxxiii.
14-16.
"Anointed one" in this building is in the female order, and is
called the "head, or cap stone," which "shall be brought forth
with shouting, grace, grace, unto her." *
16. These prophecies concerning "the branches" are both
important and very interesting, as they most particularly allude
to the work of God, and the Dispensation of his grace, in the
day in which we now live; therefore, it is here worthy of our
particular notice and regard, that the final work of God could
never be accomplished in its beauty and glory," until that day
when the second branch of the Lord, representing the female,
should be established on earth, and the two should be united in
one.
17. That being thus united, the woman is the co-worker in
building up the temple of the Lord, and in the upbuilding and
advancement of his kingdom, and that therefore, being a true
and faithful co-worker, she "eats her own bread and wears her
own apparel," agreeably to the predictions of the Prophet.
And it is also worthy of further notice here, that the union be-
tween the two Branches is neither more nor less than the marriage
of the Lamb and his Bride. To this union of the male and
female in the "Branch of righteousness, and counsel of peace
between them both," the desire of all nations centered, and to
this all the Prophets pointed.
18. Among the many worthy and interesting prophecies con-
cerning the " Branches," there is one or two more, immediately
connected with our subject, we will notice. "Behold the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be
saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby
he shall be called: The Lord our righteousness."
19. And again, " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that
I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the
house of Israel, and to the house of Judah. In those days, and
at that time, I will cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up
unto David, and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in
the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem
shall dwell safely ; and this is the name wherewith She shall be
called: The Lord our righteousness."
20. This is a very plain and pointed prophecy, and less obscure
than many others ; and will therefore require but a few short
remarks or explanations. It is in two distinct parts; or in other
words, it was given in two distinct periods of time, in the days
of the Prophet Jeremiah.
21. The second or last part of the prophecy was given some
nine or ten years after the first, and appears to have been given
• This is according to the original.
B. IX. IN THE FEMALE ORDER. 525
as a seal of confirmation to the first ; and for the further wise chap, in.
purpose of showing that the promised " Branch of righteousness "
was not one alone, but two in one. For the Hebrew word, (in
which tongue the prophecy was given), is " Jehovah — Tsidkenu,"
and which being expressive of both the masculine and feminine
genders, is therefore, in our English language, correctly translated
"He and She shall be called the Lord our Bighteousness."
22. It must appear evident to every discerning mind, that the
allusions in this prophecy, are pressing to the latter day for their
accomplishment; and that the promises contained in this pro-
phecy are not to be fulfilled to the house of Israel and Judah,
literally, nor yet to the literal Jerusalem, all these being used
figuratively; but that it was to the spiritual house of Israel and
Judah, and to the heavenly Jerusalem from above, that the
promises were made. Or in other words, the promises were made
to those only, who through faith and obedience should become
the true Israel of God, and consequently the true heirs of his
promises.
23. Whatever may be the extent of that great and mighty
work, which shall " execute justice and righteousness in the earth,"
either to the house of Israel, to the Jews, or to the Gentiles, or
until "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea;" certain it is that this work is the
work of the "new creation of God," of a " new heaven and a
new earth."
24. And certain it is that this new creation has had a begin-
ning, and it is equally sure that the beginning of this new creation
was in those two "righteous Branches," who being united in one,
were made, ordained, and constituted a new and spiritual Parent-
age. Hence the first Father and Mother in the new creation are
the two first foundation pillars in God's spiritual building, and the
" two Anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
25. Through these " righteous Branches," then whose inherent,
creative and productive properties and powers, are both male and
female in the Divine nature, and in the Divine law and order,
shall righteousness "grow and prosper," till "all the ends of the •Im.jcI.5;
earth shall see the salvation of God." lu' lu"
26. From all the foregoing predictions concerning the second
coming of Christ, and the setting up of his kingdom on earth,
how can it be otherwise than evident, that this kingdom could
never appear until the time appointed of the Father, when the
"marriage of the Lamb with his Bride" should take place?
How can it be otherwise than that this kingdom is a spiritual
kingdom, a kingdom of righteousness? and this marriage of the
Lamb and his Bride, is a spiritual union betxoeen the " two
Anointed ones" whom God had chosen and anointed King and
Queen of Zion ?
526 APPEARING OP CHRIST B. IX.
chap, in. 27. And what can be move evident, from all the prophecies on
that subject, than that this King and Queen of Zion, are the first
Father and Mother of all the children of the regeneration? and
that this first father and mother are the beginning of the " crea-
tion of God,'''' of the " new heavens and the new earth? " What
can be more consistent with the Divine wisdom and goodness,
than these prophecies and promises of God, that the woman
, should be raised to her proper lot and order, as an helper-meet,
and a co-worker with her Lord, in the work of man's redemption ?
28. Where is there a plainer declaration in all the sacred
records than this: that God created the first man Adam, '■'■male
and female, in his own image, and, after his like?iess? What
declaration can be plainer than : that the first man Adam of the
earth, urns a figure of Christ the second Adam, the Lord from
heaven? And what, then, can be a more scriptural, true, and
rational conclusion, than that Christ the second Adam, is also
male and female'?
29. Yet notwithstanding all these plain prophecies and prom-
ises, and also these plain and unequivocal declarations of the
Almighty ;• such now is, and such for many ages has been, the
blind and lost condition of by far the greater part of what is
called the " Christian world," that being led on in darkness by a
blind priesthood, the clearest oracles of God have become per-
verted, and the very order of Deity subverted and falsified.
30. And from age to age, one blind priesthood after another,
have followed in the footsteps of their predecessors, who, in the
place of truth and reason, have substituted a Deity of their own
invention; a " Triune God! " a " Trinity of three male persons
in the Godhead!" and which withal, is the most unscriptural,
the most inconsistent, incoherent and imaginary of all anti-
christian dogmas.
31. From whence came this blindness? From whence origin-
ated this perversion of the Prophets and Apostles, and their sacred
writings ? From whence this subversion of the pure law and order
of God, to the exclusion of the female from her equitable right and
participation with the male in the order and government of God's
household, the same, as if in God, the female had no existence?
32. From whence, we ask, is the origin of all this blindness ?
The answer is plain and ready. The origin of all this blindness
and evil, is Satan, that old serpent, the devil, the adversary of
God, and all the work of his hands. For no sooner had the Son
of God appeared with the "glad tidings of salvation," and the
Sun of Righteousness arisen with "healing in his wings," than
See Mat. Satan, through his emissaries, stood ready to resist him, and to
ii. 13. 16. geek occasion for his life.
33. And no sooner had the Apostles and first Founders of the
primitive Church finished their labors, and closed their days on
B. IX. IN THE FEMALE ORDER. 527
earth, than "devouring wolves" — a corrupt and aspiring priest- chap. hi.
hood began to take the dominion ; and under the assumed name
of Christ, and a false profession of his Church, they supplanted
the truth and simplicity of the Gospel, both in doctrine and
practice ; and substituted in its place their own carnal reasonings,
the vain philosophy of the Gentiles, their self-invented and in- see Col. ii.
coherent dogmas ; with endless contentions about God and 8-
Christ ; about spirit and matter, and reons and demons, and so
on; sufficient to fill the whole Christian world with proud ambi-
tion, perplexity, discord, confusion and strife !
34. This was the gloomy state and condition of the Church,
(falsely called the primitive Christian Church,) which in the
beginning of the fourth century, after more than one hundred
years of wrangling on the subject, this Church, by a council of
her 318 lordly bishops, who under imperial authority at the
council of Nice, in the year 325, decided and decreed: —
35. That there was a "Godhead," and that in this Godhead
were "three distinct male persons," the "Father, Son and Holy
Ghost; " which is understood to mean, He the Father, He the
Son, and He the Holy Ghost; and that these three male persons
were "One Triune God!" a " Holy Trinity!" And whoso-
ever did not believe and acknowledge this as the only true and
fundamental doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, were decreed
heretics ; and heretics must be persecuted and banished, and in
process of time, were put to death.
36. But the faith and integrity of all men were not so easily
subdued ; various opinions were still held forth by the contending
parties; and the growing authority of a corrupt and aspiring
priesthood, not being fully and sufficiently established at the
council of Nice, to suit their views of ghostly dominion over the
consciences and conduct of men, they, the priesthood of an apostate
Church, held a second general council, in order to establish more
permanently their rudimental doctrines, and thereby more effect-
ually to detect and suppress all heresies that might exist, or rise
up, "to trouble the Church!''''
37. This second general council, also, under imperial authority,
consisted of 350 bishops, assembled at Constantinople, in the
year 381 ; fifty-six years after the famous and much celebrated
" council of Nice." In this second general council, the doctrine
of the Trinity, of three male persons in one God, was fixed,
decided, and decreed in a more full and determinate manner than
what the council of Nice had formerly done. It was decided and
decreed, that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, are in substance,
in glory, and in majesty, co-equal and co-eternal ! That the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God ;
and that Christ the Son of God, is " perfect God," and " perfect
man ! "
528 INCONSISTENCY OF THE B. IX.
CHAP- Iv- 38. And this, the doctrine of the '•' Holy Trinity," of " three
male persons in the Godhead," was contrived up, and established,
let it be remembered, by the lordly and aspiring bishops, and
earthly rulers, in the fourth century. It was the result of long
and bitter contention, among the priesthood, and the decisions
and decrees of the dominant party were established by the
imperial authority of the Roman emperors. And hence the doc-
trine of a " Trinity," of " three male persons in the Godhead,"
has been taught and supported as the rudimental doctrine of the
" Christian religion " by all the professed orthodox of the
Christian name, throughout the dismal reign of antichrist, from
the beginning of the fourth century to the present time.
CHAPTER IV.
INCONSISTENCY OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY WITH
ALL THE MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD.
The foregoing remarks on the origin of that doctrine called the
"Holy Trinity," may appear at first sight as a digression from
our main object concerning the " Mother ; " but by a further view
of the matter, the propriety of this digression, if such it is, will
readily appear.
2. We should here recollect that immediately after the fall
of our first parents, in the garden of Eden, the Lord God, in
displeasure, denounced their disobedience and sin; yet he pro-
mised, notwithstanding, that "the woman and her seed should
crush the serpent's head; " and declared, moreover, that the ser-
pent "should lie in wait for the woman's heel." No prophetic
passages of Scripture have been more truly verified than these
two.
3. That the serpent should lie in wait for the woman's heel, is
neither more nor less, than that he should be continually lying in
wait, and watching as it were, at the back doors of corruption,
the heel, that which is out of sight, but near and very sensitive
to earthly effects, and thus prefigures the secret poison, injected
by the serpent in the fallen nature, among the weeds of strife
and contention, in the hidden manners and cunning of the ser-
pent, for opportunities to injure the woman ; and especially to
B. IX. DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 529
frustrate, and if possible, supplant and overthrow, the designs CHAP- Iv-
and promises of the Almighty, concerning her and her seed.
4. It was here, among the corrupt priesthood, among the sons
of strife," the lordly bishops of the fourth century, that the old
serpent, the devil, found a convenient and suitable opportunity to
form his plans, for frustrating the designs of God, and of making
void his promises to fallen man. It was here, in a very special
manner, that Satan found place and opportunity to "change the
truth of God, into a lie," for he was a "liar from the beginning." 44. '
5. The Lord God in the beginning, decreed to make man
"male and female, in His own image and likeness;" and he
did so create him. But Satan, that old serpent said, and his
willing and obedient subjects decided and decreed that it was
false; that the image and likeness of God was not male and
female; but that it was a "Trinity of three male persons, in
one God! the Son procedhig from the Father," but without a
Mother! and the Holy Ghost (He) "proceeding from both the
Father and the Son."
6. This is the true "Catholic faith" and doctrine, established
by the blinded ecclesiastical and civil powers of the fourth cen-
tury; and, as the decree says, "which faith, except every one do
keep whole and undefiled ; without doubt he shall perish ever-
lastingly." .What chance, then, for the lives and well-being of
any mortal who, in future, should believe or think differently.
This monstrous doctrine of a "Trinity," being established by
both ecclesiastical and civil powers, became the criterion of or-
thodoxy, and the test by which the thoughts and opinions of all
men were to be judged, acquitted or condemned. And thousands
upon thousands, in succeeding ages, suffered the consequences
and the penalty, with their fortunes and their lives.
7. And here it may be proper to remark, that in the fourth
century, scarcely a vestige of the true spirit and simplicity of
the Gospel, and of the first primitive church, in the Apostolic
age, was now remaining with the dominant party, who claimed
both the name and authority of Christ, and who styled them-
selves the Catholic, the only orthodox, and the only true Chris-
tian Church!" And let it be kept in mind, that this doctrine of
the "Trinity," established by this dominant party in the Chris-
tian name, was the " opening wedge," and the " battering ram,"
into the dominions of the " beast ; " the " key " into the kingdom
of antichrist, and his long and deplorable reign, which was near
at hand.
8. That Satan, the adversary of God and man, had in-
fluenced the devising and establishing this absurd trinitarian
doctrine, must appear evident to every spiritually discerning
mind. For, although it was long since, did not the old serpent
know and well remember what the Almighty had declared to
530 INCONSISTENCY OP THE B. IX.
chap. iv. him in the garden of Eden, that " woman and her seed should
yet crush his head? " Undoubtedly he did.
9. And when those contending priests and bishops were met
in a grand and general council, from all parts of the then known
Christian world, Asia, Africa and Europe, to settle and decide
on their long continued disputes and wranglings about God, and
the personalities of their Deity ; what could be more consistent
with the enmity, nay, with the cunning and subtilty of the ser-
pent, than to inspire these lofty dignitaries with ideas and views
that would keep out of sight, the "woman?" that should exclude
the female from having any part or attribute in the existence of
Deity, or any participation in the work of man's redemption ?
10. What could be more agreeable to the disposition and
enmity of the serpent, than to improve this favorable opportunity
for forming doctrines and decrees in the name of God and Christ,
which might frustrate the design of God, in regard to the "wo-
man, and her seed," who were yet to supplant his power ? What
more cunning and deeply devised plan could Satan have inven-
ted, to subvert the true order of God, to exclude the female from
her proper place and rank in the " new creation," than that of es-
tablishing, as a fundamental article of the Christian faith and prac-
tice, that monstrous doctrine of " three male persons in one God ? "
11. Thus it was that the serpent deposited his eggs of false-
hood and lies, concerning God, in the spawn of contention, strife
and bitterness ; and these eggs of the serpent were brooded over,
and hatched out by the priesthood, the lordly bishops of the
fourth century, who in their sittings and councils, brought forth
that inconsistent and mischievous doctrine of the " Holy Trinity! "
And all this, notwithstanding the plainest and most express dec-
laration of the Creator, to the contrary.
12. When, therefore, this doctrine became established, as the
test of all religious opinions, as the very basis of Christianity ;
and, when the same doctrine was inculcated from the cradle to
the grave, and to be enforced by penal laws, and statutes, through
succeeding ages, as the only true orthodox doctrine of Christ and
his Apostles ; how distant, in the course of so many ages, must
have been the views and thoughts of the "Christian world"
generally, with regard to the reality and consistency of the
female having any agency in the work of man's redemption.
13. Let us look for a moment at the consequences of this long
established doctrine of "three male persons in God." The first
consequence was, that mankind were taught not to believe the
word of the Creator, when he said that he made man male
and female, after his own likeness. That they were not to be-
lieve that the first Adam of the earth, was a "figure of Christ, the
Lord from heaven." The further consequence was, and is,
agreeable to the device of Satan, that the female, as to her having
B. IX. DOCTRINE OP TRINITY. 531
any leading agency in the work of redemption, was kept out, of chap, iv.
sight, as in that work, the serpent dreaded the "bruising and
crushing of his head by the woman and her seed."
14. And hence, according to these false creeds, the female
forming no part or likeness of the Divine Being, of what use
was her existence but for earthly purposes ? What of rank, or
station is permitted or allowed her in the spiritual work and
callings of God, preparatory to a future state ? And what, from
these long established, and long received antichristian creeds,
must be the true spiritual state and condition of the female ? Is
she not still under the "curse? "
15. And by her being excluded, according to those creeds,
from any part, or participation in the order and government of
the " house of God," to what purpose is her existence, but that
she might remain a servile subject to the sinful desire and lusts
of men; and thus the "broadway" of sin and destruction, of
carnal pleasure and ruin, might be left open to fallen man. And
all this was the device of Satan in the first establishment of
antichrist's kingdom.
16. We need not wonder, then, at the blindness and opposition
of mankind, to the idea that the female is united with the male
Christ, as an helper-meet, and as a co-worker in man's redemp-
tion. Nor need we wonder at the perpetual confessions of pro-
fessed Christians, especially of those nominal creed-making and
creed-loving Christians, that they are yet sinners.
17. It is admitted by all, that it was the woman the old ser-
pent, by his cunning, first deceived and decoyed into sin, and that
by the same cunning the woman decoyed the man, and thus sin
was brought into the world. Now, as the woman was the first
in sin and transgression, what could be more consistent ? what
would be more just, equitable, and right with the Almighty and
his eternal Wisdom, than that the woman should be the medium
to bring forth that light which should fully reveal the man of sin,
the "mystery of iniquity," and the secret workings of the serpent
in the human heart ?
18. It is from these causes, combined with the enmity of the ser-
pent, and his: secret workings on the human hear t ; infusing corrupt
inclinations and evil desires to enjoy the pleasures of sin, that the
offence is taken at the manifestation of Christ through the female.
19. But it must needs be that '.' offences will come," for no way
in which the Lord God ever revealed his will, has suited the car-
nal mind, nor even human wisdom. And hence it is written,
" Behold,, I lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious
corner stone, a sure foundation." But (mind) it shall be for
" a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence'''' to the disobedient
1 r*i-it \\ fi
and them that "stumble at the word." And they " stumbled at &c.
the stumbling stone."
532 INCONSISTENCY OF THE, &C. B. IX.
chap. iv. 20. And therefore, such as are willing to consider the Christ,
the Anointing Spirit, and true Son of God, in any other light
than as a being of flesh and blood ; and that he cannot manifest
himself in the manner and form as pleases him best, whether in
and through the male or the female, or through both, such are
sure to be offended, such are sure to stumble !
21. This " stone of stumbling,'''' this " rock of offences,'1'' is
laid in Zion. It is laid a " sure foundation " because it is laid in
both male and female, of which the true Zion of God and of his
likeness is composed ; and will therefore never be moved nor re-
moved. And consequently such as are for stumbling, will lack
no occasion to stumble, and they may as well stumble at Ann
Lee, the Blacksmith's daughter, in the day of Christ's second
appearing, as both Jews and Gentiles stumbled at Jesus, whom
they called the Carpenter's Son, in the day of Christ's first ap-
pearing. The first was accused of " blasphemy,'" and why not
the second ?
22. For there never was any dispensation of the favor and
grace of God to man, but what has been met with opposition and
contempt from the greater part of the fallen race, however
infinite in wisdom his dispensations were planned ! And it would
seem that no dispensation of the goodness of God to mankind
will ever be acceptable to such, in whatever form or manner it
may appear, unless it comes agreeably to their own will and
pleasure. And therefore there is no other alternative with the
Almighty in the performance of his promise after dispensing a
fair offer in mercy, than by a dispensation of his rolling judg-
ments to sweep the wicked and rebellious from the earth.
23. It is upon those who enjoy the greatest privilege of know-
ing the will of God, in the day and dispensation of his grace
in which they live, and their despising the same, that the heaviest
judgments of God will fall. And in these, especially the " des-
pisers " of the work of God, in the " Last Day," must that
Scripture be fulfilled, " Behold ye despisers, and wonder and
perish ; for I work a work in your days, a vjork in which ye
shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you."
B. IX.
SUMMARY REMARKS ON THE, &C.
533
CHAPTER V.
SUMMARY REMARKS ON THE ORDER IN DEITY; AND CONSE-
QUENT MANNER OP MAN'S REDEMPTION IN CHRIST.
The foregoing treatise, concerning the order in the existence of
Deity, the order in which man was created, and the corres-
pondent manner of man's redemption, may be comprised in the
following words ; as from time to time, has been made known by
the revelation of Christ, in this day of the second manifestation
of that Divine Spirit, with infallible proofs of their truth and
reality, namely:
2. That in the Almighty Being, whom we call God, there
existed, before man was created, and before the worlds were
formed, an Eternal Two in One Spirit; who, in plain Scrip-
ture language arc termed Almighty Power and Infinite
Wisdom. That the first holds the seat or throne of the Eternal
Father; and the second, that of the Eternal Mother; and
that by the union of these Eternal Two, the heavens and
earth were created and set in order; and by their united power
and wisdom they are sustained.
3. Secondly. That before the world or order of creation was
formed, and before man was created on the earth, there existed,
in the Christ element, an order of spiritual beings, male and
female, designated Sons of God, and Morning Stars, in union
with the Eternal Father and Mother from whose living essence
they were a proceeding ; and who were the prototypes of the
human race. And, after the earth, and every living creature
thereon were formed, God, through means adapted to the end,
created man, two in one nature, "male and female, created He
them, after his own image, and in his own likeness," and called
their name Adam.
4. Third. That, notwithstanding Adam, the first man and
woman that God created on the earth, by disobedience to the
laws of their Creator, fell from the rectitude in which they had
been placed ; and their posterity following the example of their
parents in transgression, having likewise fallen, the design of
God to raise man to an elevated spiritual order, was not thereby
thwarted; but, that his purposes in that respect, might be
accomplished, He mercifully, at sundry times, and in divers
manners, promised a restoration and redemption through the
agency of his Divine Son and Daughter, and mediators of his
own choosing.
5. That this promise, which continued to be renewed for many
chap v.
Job,
ixxviii. 7.
534
SUMMARY REMARKS ON THE
B. IX.
chap. v. successive ages, was couched or involved in prophetic language,
in types and shadows ; in allegories ; in obscure sayings, and
See Hosea,
xi. 10.
See Acts, i.
Mat. xxvi.
36
Mark, xiii.
32.
Isa. lix. 2(1'.
Gal. i\r. 4,
Fleb. ii. 16,
17.
Luke, IX.
26.
Isa. ix. 7
Micah,iv 3.
dark similitudes, which were not, and could not be understood
by mortals, until the "times and seasons " in which (rod would
fulfill his promise, and accomplish His work of restoration. And
these times and seasons, as well as the order and manner, in the
accomplishment of his work, the "Father reserved in his own
power.'''' He suffered not man to have the knowledge of this: " no,
not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.''''
G. Fourth. That in the fulness' of time, the Father sent into
the world his beloved Son; the true representative of his
character, the "express image" and likeness of the Eternal
Father, to redeem the fallen race ; He was revealed in Jesus of
Nazareth, who existed in the form of a servant, and was the
" body prepared for him" which was " made of a woman," as the
Apostle expresses it, and as has been clearly set forth.
7. It was hence, in this line of life, that the Spirit like a dove
descended upon him, (Jesus) with a voice and a testimony " This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thi% was the
Christ, the Anointing Spirit of the Holy One; the Son of the
living God, of whom the voice spake. Thus Jesus became the
author of eternal salvation, the "first begotten from the dead.''''
The "beginning and first Father of the new heavens, a?id the
new earth, wherein dv;ellelh righteousness.''''
8. Fifth. That the Son revealed the character and will of his
heavenly Father; and that, for the day and time being, "he
finished the work his Father gave him to do." But there
was still a far greater work for him to do in a future clay. The
time for the "setting tip of his kingdom " on earth had not yet
come ; and he must needs go away ; but at the time appointed
of the Father, he would come ; he would come in "his own glory,
and in the glory of his Father, and of the holy angels."
9. That the time for his "marriage" should come, when the
"Bride should have made herself ready ;" and that, at his com-
ing again, he would appear in union with his Bride. Until that
time, his kingdom could not be "set up " and established on
earth ; nor could that happy period advance, when, " Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end ; "
when " nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn rear any more." Then, and not till then,
should his kingdom appear.
10. Sixth. That it was not possible for the kingdom of Christ
to be established on earth, and for him to appear in " power and
great glory," as he promised, until the two Anointed ones; the
Son and the Daughter; the two first foundation pillars of that
kingdom, should both be made manifest on earth, and the
testimony of their witnesses established among men.
B. IX. ORDER IN DEITY, &C. 535
11. That the Son having been made manifest, and the testi- chap, v.
mony of his witnesses established, (but not so of the Daughter,)
it was necessary, therefore, that the " heavens must receive him, Acts, m 20.
until the times of restitution of all things, ivhich God hath spoken
by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the ivorld began.''''
12. The "times of restitution of all things" had not come.
The woman, that congenial and essential part of man's existence
in the new creation, (as well as in the old,) had riot yet been
restored to her proper place and order. Therefore, the order
of God in the work of man's redemption, and the restitution of
all things, was not, and could not be completed in the day of
Christ's first appearing.
13. It was for this very reason, that he had to come, and pro-
mised to come, the " second time." And it was from this very
cause, and the long distance of time between the two advents, or
Christ's first and second coming, that the adversary (Satan) took
the advantage and " scattered the power of the holy people ; "
and the sanctuary of the saints became " trodden under foot''''
for the space of " forty and two months," or at least, 1260 years, see Daniel.
14. The true Church of Christ, and its saving power, was
supplanted ; a false Church, (and finally innumerable false
Churches,) false doctrines, and corrupt power and dominion,
under the Christian name, were established on its ruins," and
prevailed, even until the time when the promise drew near,
for "Christ's second coming," and the "cleansing of the
sanctuary."
15. Seventh. To accomplish the order of the new creation, and
the order of man's redemption in both the male and female line,
when the fulness of time had come, according to promise, God,
the Eternal Father and Mother, sent forth into the world their
beloved Daughter in the chosen one prepared, who descended,
not from the princes and nobles of the earth ; but she appeared
in the "form of a handmaid.'1
16. Who, being the " chosen vessel " of God's will, became
subject to the death of a carnal nature by the cross, through
obedience and sufferings, and was invested with the power of
God, and " excellent majesty from on High ; " and was " clothed
in tjie glory and brightness of her Lord and Redee?ner, and
with the garments of his salvation. Hence she was the second
Heir, in the covenant of promise of eternal life; " and having
received the "Anointing of the Holy One, she was the true
representative of the Daughter, the Mother Spirit in Christ, the
" express image and likeness of her Eternal Mother ; " and by
the same anointing, the Christ, abiding in her, she became the
first Mother of the children of the regeneration. Of this Parent-
age, the " whole family and household of God, in heaven and on j|e p "**
earth, is named."
536 SUMMARY REMARKS ON THE B. IX.
chap. v. 17. As the testimony of Christ first appearing, in and with the
Son of man, was confirmed by many witnesses, in all of whom
we believe, with unwavering faith and confidence, even so it is
now. The testimony of Christ's second appearing in and with
the Daughter, is also confirmed by many living witnesses ; by
thousands, who, through her ministration and Spirit, (derived
from the Son) have received the power of salvation from all sin,
and daily partake of the bread and waters of eternal life. These
are they, who follow Jesus Christ in the regeneration ; and that
have "forsaken all for Christ, and the kingdom of heaven's sake."
" By their fruits ye shall know them."
18. And finally, after the Son and Daughter, the Two Anoint-
ing Ones, the first and Divine Parents of our redemption, had
both, in their appointed times, been revealed on earth, in the form
of those whom they came to redeem, and after they had finished
the work on earth which the Eternal Parents had given them to
do, they then left, with their first born Son and Daughter and
their cross-bearing children, their united spirit and counsel for
building Zion.
19. And when, by the power of their united testimony and
example, they had laid the foundation for the " second (spiritual)
temple," conjointly with the first, and the " Desire of all nations "
had come ; then, and never till then, could the Church, the beloved
city, New Jerusalem, begin to appear as " coming down from God
Rev.xxi.2. out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned Jor her husband."
20. All these things have come to pass in their proper times
and seasons as predicted by the Prophets. The evidences of this
fact, of its truth and reality, are before the world. " And the light
shinelh in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.'1''
The Divine Son and Daughter, through these two Anointed ones
of the Most High, have appeared, and have been made manifest
on earth. Not in earthly pomp and splendor, according to the
lofty and vain imagination of " blind guides," did, or was Christ
to appear, either at his first or second coming ; but in low
Seelssuliii. humility and sorrow of soul did he come, both the first and second
i, 3, & liv. time; in the male, and in the female.
21. These, the two Anointed ones of God's own choosing and
appointment, have borne their testimony, and left the example of
forsaking all for the kingdom of heaven's sake; of confessing
and forsaking every sin, and every sinful thing ; of living a pure
and holy life of self-denial, and bearing a daily cross against all
the allurements, temptations, and propensities of an evil and
corrupt nature; of renouncing the world, and crucifying the
flesh with all its affections and lusts, which is crucifixion and
death to all the elements and rudiments of the fleshy, sensual and
sinful nature of fallen man.
22. And thus, by the united spirit and testimony of the two
B. IX. ORDER IN DEITY. &C. 537
Anointed ones, they have broken asunder the bands of death, chap. v.
and brought "life and immortality to light.'''' To the "willing
and obedient" both man and woman, they have brought salvation
and deliverance from the bondage of sin and corruption.
23. They have, moreover, visited their children, their true
and faithful crossbearing followers, with their spiritual presence,
bestowed upon them of the rich treasures of the invisible world,
and endowed them with the power and gifts of God from on high.
They have established the Zion of God's likeness upon earth,
the beloved city, the Heavenly Jerusalem, wherein no unclean
thing can enter and abide. And they have adorned Zion with
the elements of order and beauty, harmony and love. Hence
her walls are salvation; and virtue and truth, righteousness and
peace, reign within her borders. And this beloved city can ^Vjo.'
never be overcome.
24. These are the "marvellous works" of the Lord our God,
which he promised to perform in the latter days. And thus, be-
yond all doubt, will God, in his own due time, fulfil all his word,
and accomplish all his purposes, and his work, with all the
nations and inhabitants of the earth.
25. Although the day has actually come, that shall "burn as
an oven" and the judgments of God are rolling on the earth with
increasing calamity, while devouring fires, and destroying floods,
while earthquakes, and hail, and wars, and famine, and pestilence,
are stalking through the earth, to punish the world for its iniquities. See Luke,
And also while the proclaiming angels of God, through marvel-
lous signs, and wonderful providential and spiritual operations,
which are more and more increasing in the age and day in which
we live, are loudly calling, and solemnly warning the inhabitants
of the earth that God is drawing near to visit the world by
"pouring out his Spirit," in mercy, as well as in judgment.
(See Rev. xviii. 1-4, xix. 17-21.*) Still the children of men
do not know the day of their visitation.
26. Yet, to them that "fear his name, shall the Sun of Mai.iv. 2.
right eous?iess arise with healing in his wings." They that See Mat. v.
"Hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled." They Heb. ix. 2s.
that, in true humility and sincerity of heart, desire and look for i*abj."'y14'
Christ's second coming, to them will he appear the " second
time," to their joy and salvation; and the "knowledge of the
Lord and his glory shall yet fill the earth as the waters cover
the sea." Amen.
* The conjunctive voices, powers, and influences of these two angels, are evi-
dently the supernatural agencies which cause the extraordinary phenomena of
this age and time, and which, in their strange manifestations, have confounded
all the natural wisdom of man.
35
THE TESTIMONY
OP
CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING.
-»»♦«■*
BOOK X.
PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST'S
SECOND APPEARING.
CHAPTER I.
THE ORDER OF GOD IX THE CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
OF SINS.
That all mankind have sinned, and that none can be justified, chap. i.
accepted, and saved, without forgiveness, none who believe the
Scriptures of truth will pretend to deny ; and it is a truth
equally undeniable, that without a confession of sins, there can
be no forgiveness.
2. " He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso pr0v.
confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. If we say we f j"^ 1i3'
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. s-io.
Or, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us." This is the same as to cover sins. " But
if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
3. Agreeable to this are the words of the Proohet Ezra, " Let
not the sinner say he hath not sinned : for God shall burn coals 2 Esd. xvi.
of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord God and his 53> 63' 66
glory, I have not sinned. Surely the Lord God knoweth your
inventions, and what ye think in your hearts, even them that sin,
and would hide their sin. What will ye do? or how will ye hide
your sins before God and his angels?"
4. Then, as it is impossible for any sinner to hide his sins from
God or his angels, and as there is no possibility of forgiveness
with out confession, and as it is with the mouth that confession is
made unto salvation ; therefore the coming of Christ with his holy
540 THE CONFESSION OP SINS. B. X.
chap. I. angels, or in his saints, is to give mankind, who are weary of sin,
the privilege of confessing their sins to God, by Christ the Medi-
ator, in his saints, where he is actually revealed and made manifest,
as the only true light of the world; and which is the only door
of hope that ever was, or ever will be open for real salvation.
Ecci.xii. 5. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret
John xii thing. And, Now is the judgment of this xoorld. If I regard
31. iniquity in mij heart, says David, the Lord will not hear me.
^sa. xvi. ^s j jiear j judge, says Christ Jesus. And the Son of man hath
John, v. 30. poiver on earth to forgive sins."
G. All must admit, that all sins are works of darkness, conse-
quently that they proceed from the tempting influence of the
powers of darkness ; that it is the aim of sinners to keep their
works in the dark, and cover them from all who have spiritual
light to condemn them. But upon all in that state, the Lord
pronounces the woes of condemnation, "Woe unto them that
seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works
are in the dark. Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord,
t o w\, that take counsel, but not of me ; that cover with a covering,
lo; xxx. i. but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin.'
7. Such is evidently the nature of sin and sinners. Therefore,
all who are induced honestly to uncover and confess their sins
before those who are agents of Divine light, must certainly be
actuated by the Spirit of light. Hence, this honest feeling pre-
pares the heart and opens the door for the seed of the Gospel to
be sown in the soul, and to bring forth the fruits of salvation. For
it is those who receive the word or seed of the Gospel in a "good
and honest heart," "that bring forth fruit." From these pre-
mises, every candid mind will have a clear evidence of the pro-
priety and necessity of confessing sins in the order of God.
8. The first Divine appointment for the confession of sins, re-
corded in the Scriptures, was given through Jacob, the father of
the tribes of Israel. After the affair of the Shechemites, Jacob
feared that the inhabitants of the land would rise and destroy
him and his household. And God said to him, "Arise and go
up to Bethel, and make there an altar unto God." Then Jacob,
as elder of his household, preparatory to the institution of
sacred worship, required them all to "put away their strange
gods, and change their garments, that they might be clean."
9. And in obedience they gave up their strange gods to him,
with all their ear-rings and ornaments: and Jacob hid them in
the earth, whence they originated. And they having changed
their defiled garments, were made clean and clad with new rai-
ment, according to the work of the day ; and the blessing of God,
and protection from their enemies attended them. Thus it is
clear, that all who owned Jacob as their leader, had to give an
account of all those things, which, according to the then present
B. X.
THE CONFESSION OP SINS.
541
See Gen.
xxxv. 1-15.
degree of the work of God, were not owned of him. This was chap, i
done by an open and practical confession.
10. After this work was effected, Jacob built an altar, where
he and all his people could offer their sacrifices, and worship the
true God, which could not be done before. Here the foundation
was laid for Israel to be the true worshippers of God, in the figu-
rative order, as a type of spiritual Israel, and the worshippers of
the true God, " in spirit and in truth.''''
11. This was the first established worship, divinely appointed,
for any people, recorded in Scripture. And this foundation was
laid by means of an honest confession to their elder, of sin, ac-
cording to the light of the day, and giving up their strange gods,
and all that belonged to them ; for these were the idols that the
world then worshipped, and were its prevailing sins ; and they
could not be accepted as the worshippers of the true God, until
they had confessed and put them away.
12. Then God appeared to Jacob, and changed his name to
Israel, that is, princely prevailcr with God, and thus instituted
his descendants as the covenant people of God, in figurative order,
to be typical of his true Israel, who are the princely prevailers
ivith God,, by overcoming the fallen nature of the first man, and
him that had the power of it. Such will compose God's cove-
nant people, in his everlasting kingdom.
13. Therefore, if the work of an honest confession, and putting
away all the idols of the world, and hiding them in the earth,
was necessary to bring souls into the figurative work of God, by
which they were saved from their outward enemies, how much
more important must this work be, in the perfect dispensation, in
order to become the pure children of God, and be saved from
their spiritual enemies, and thereby find an inheritance in his
heavenly kingdom, of which the land promised to natural Israel
was but a figure.
14. By such a confession and sacrifice, the sins and idols of
souls are put away, and buried in the world from whence they
came, never more to be brought up against them, if they continue
honestly to serve the true God. Thus their defiled garments of
sin will be stripped off, and they will be clean, and become clad
with robes of righteousness, and thereby be acceptable worshippers
of God, '■'•in the beauty of holiness.''''
15. This order of the confession of sins was marked out under
the law, by the command of God to Moses, and established as an
abiding statute for Israel. And, although the outward and cere-
monial part of the law ceased at the appearing of Christ, such
as offerings and sacrifices for sin ; yet confessing and forsaking
sin did not cease : For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied
until John. And they of Jerusalem and all Judea, and the
region round about Jordan, were baptized of John in the river
See 1 John,
i. 9.
I.uke, xv.
22.
Rev. xix. 8.
Mat. xi. 13.
iii. 5, 6
Mark i. 1.
542
THE CONFESSION OF SINS.
B. X.
CHAP. I.
1 Tim.
24.
Num. v.
5-7.
Lev. iii.-
3-9.
See Ezra,
x. 9-17.
Lev. xvii.
4-9.
Luke, xvii
37.
Jordan, confessing their sins ; which was the beginning of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
10. Some men's sins are open beforehand , going before to
judgment. Which is in no other way than by an open and free
confession, or bringing their deeds into the judgment, where the
judgment is given unto the saints. But some men's sins folloio
after. For a confession made in the dark, where the sin is com-
mitted, or in the desert, or some secret chamber, without any
evidence or witness, is no confession at all ; nor is anything laid
open in the sight of God, or brought to the light thereby, for all
things are naked and open before him, and nothing can be covered
from him, nor anything brought to the light of his xYll-seeing
eye.
17. The order of God in the confession of sins was marked
out in a shadow, under the Law ; and Christ came not to destroy
the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfil ; and he came into the world
for judgment, so the substance was in a measure fulfilled, in the
work of his first appearing ; but, according to the testimony of
Christ in that clay, the Law and the Prophets were to be more
especially fulfilled in his second appearing, which, on that ac-
count, was spoken of as the judgment of the great day.
18. That the order of G-od for the confession of every particular
sin, was established under the Law, is evident from the whole
Law: a few passages of which may suffice for example: "And
the Lord spake unto Moses saying, speak unto the children of
Israel ; when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men
commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be
guilty : then they shall confess their sin which they have done :
and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof,
and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against
whom he hath trespassed."
19. For the time then present, there were always certain per-
sons appointed, according to the order of God, to hear and judge,
and to direct the transgressor how to make restitution ; which
served as a shadow of future things under the Gospel. And the
confession of every particular sin was accompanied with an offer-
ing and a sacrifice, to be offered at the door of the tabernacle.
20. And if any one offered an offering, or a sacrifice, in any
other place than at the tabernacle, where God had expressly
placed his name, it was counted sacrificing unto devils, and that
soul was to be "cut off from among his people." Which had a
particular allusion to the work of Christ in his first and second
appearing, showing that it would not be lo here ! and lo there !
that God would be found to acceptance ; but as Christ expresses
it, Wheresoever the body is : that is, where he should pitch his
true tabernacle in his people, and expressly place his name, for
salvation.
B. X. THE CONFESSION OF SINS. 543
21. The high priest went into the holiest of all once a year, chap T-
and that not without blood ; for two goats were to be brought Heb. iv. 7,
one was to be slain and sacrificed, to make an atonement for the 8)28-
whole congregation of Israel ; which typefied Jesus in Christ's
first appearing, when by his own blood, or life, having opened
the way of atonement, for the sins of the world, as a Mediator
he entered into heaven itself; from whence he was to appear the
second time, to complete the work of redemption.
22. But it should here be particularly observed, that the sins of
the people were not taken away until after the high priest returned
out of the holiest of all, having prepared the way of atonement
for the sins of the whole congregation, by the blood of the first
goat which was slain. So Jesus, by offering up his own life,
opened the way of final atonement for the sins of the world;
yet sin was not wholly taken away in Christ's first appearing, ; but
the promise remained: Unto them that look for him shall he ap-
pear the second time without sin unto salvation. Which was to
make a final end of sin.
23. Again, it was commanded, saying, "Aaron (after return- Lev. ri.
ing from within the vail) shall lay both his hands upon the head ^i21'14-
of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the
children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins,
putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him
away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness." This was
to be an everlasting statute unto the children of Israel, for all
their sins, once a year.
24. This order of a full confession of sins over the head of the
scape goat, had a particular allusion to the second appearing of
Christ, to make an end of sin, by a full atonement and remission,
in the order of full and final confession, and a final forsaking.
25. This law respecting the order of atonement for the high
priest and congregation of Israel, was one of the most important
figures of the Law. For the sacrifices of the high priest for him-
self, and his entering into the holy place with the offerings of
incense, did not make atonement for, nor take away sin from,
the congregation, nor from any individual, without doing their
own work, as appointed by that law.
26. All that the high priest could do for them, was to act as
a mediator ; and through that medium a way was prepared, and
an order established, whereby all those who would confess their
sins to the appointed order of the priesthood, and sacrifice the
flesh of beasts by fire, typifying the sacrifice of a fleshly nature,
and through the medium of the high priest, offer their offerings
of incense, which prefigures the offerings of repentance, prayers, Rev Vlii
and intercessions; such, and such only, were ceremonially for- 3,5.
given, their sins taken away, and an atonement made for them, xvi.
so they were accepted according to the law.
544 THE CONFESSION OP SINS. B. X.
CHAF- *• 27. Therefore, according to this plain figure, the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, for himself and the human race, and his entering
in "■through the vail," with the offerings and incense of prayer,
repentance, and intercession, cannot take away "the sins of the
roorld" nor make an atonement for the sins of any soul, without
such doing their own work, according to the law of Christ.
Heb. xii. 28. Jesus Christ was the spiritual High Priest, and " Media-
~4, tor of the new covenayit." And by his sufferings and sacrifice
of his own life, and by his offerings of prayers, and intercessions
in the holy, heavenly place, and returning again, he opened the
way for souls whereby they might find salvation, by honestly con-
fessing their sins in the order which he established, and by sa-
crificing the beastly propensities of the flesh, in the fire of the
Holy Spirit, and through the medium of that order, offering the
sincere incense of their repentance, prayers, and intercessions ;
all such might find mercy and forgiveness, and become " At one,"
with God. This is the true meaning of atonement. But Jesus
Christ being at one with God, does not make any other soul at
one with Him.
29. Therefore, it is a great deception to suppose that the suf-
ferings and death of the Saviour could make an atonement for
souls, unless they partake of the same sufferings and death, and
l Pet. iv. l. do their own work ; as says Peter, " Forasmuch then, as Christ
hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same
mind ; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from
sin." And without passing through this work, salvation can
never be obtained.
30. A particular example of confessing sins to God, is given
osh. vii. in the case of Achan. "And Joshua said unto Achan, give, I
pray thee, glory unto the Lord God of Israel, and make confes-
sion unto him ; and tell me what thou hast done, hide it not
from me." And Achan answered Joshua, saying, " Indeed J
have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus
have I done."
31. In this case, as the sin was of a public nature, and
affected the whole congregation, Joshua stood, figuratively, in
the order of a mediator, to hear the confession ; for Achan could
make no confession to the Lord God of Israel, or to his accept-
ance, but where He was then manifested, which was ki his ser-
vant Joshua, as the first leader of Israel ; but where the sin
was of an individual nature, the confession was made to the
priest appointed to that ofiice, as the Elder of the people. In
this instance, as Achan's sin was sacrilegious rebellion, against
the express command of God, it required the death of the
19." offender, as a warning, and an atonement for Israel.
32. Therefore, when he had related to Joshua, thing by thing,
what he had done, Joshua said, " "Why hast thou troubled us ?
19-26.
Josh
B. X. THE CONFESSION OE SINS. 545
the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him CIIAP- L
with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones,
wherefore the name of that place was called the Valley of Achor
(i. e. the valley of trouble) unto this day. The destruction of
the siuner aud all that belonged to him, in this case, under the
Law, prefigured that there is a sin unto death, under the Gospel, ] John, v.
by which the soul may be wholly cut off from the true Israel.
33. Hence the Lord speaking, by the Prophet Hosea, of the
work of Christ in the latter day, refers to this circumstance, as
particularly to be fulfilled, in its full design and signification,
upon the very cause and principle of sin, when he says, " Behold Hosea ii.
I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak ' 15' &c'
comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from
thence, and the valley of Achor for a door, of hope."
34. Without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better :
and therefore such as receive the power of salvation and real
acceptance with God, must receive it through that medium
appointed in the order of God, before them ; and by finding their
union and relation to the order of God's appointment, they find
their relation to God, which was ever his manner of working, in
every dispensation of his grace, according to the word of Jesus 2Jat x' 40'
Christ.
35. Hence those who came to John, and were baptised of him, Lukevii.
confessing their sins, justified God; while the Pharisees and ~9' 30"
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being
not baptised of him. For as John was sent of God, so what-
ever was done unto John was accepted as done unto God, accord-
ing to the extent of his mission.
36. The power and authority of Christ, both in the person of
Jesus, and in the order of the primitive Church, has been
already sufficiently stated to show that there was no other medium
through which mankind could find access to God, than that in
which he was manifested, which was in his faithful and true
witnesses.
37. Hence said Jesus to his chosen followers, " Ye are the Mat. v. 13,
salt of the earth — Ye are the light of the world. He that It':;f'it0'
receiveth you, receiveth me ; and he that receivethme, receiveth
him that sent me. Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are T ,
J orni xx-
remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are 23.
retained."
38. "The glory which thou gavest me I have given them. svii. 22,
As my Father hath sent me into the world, even so send I you. £2 ^47
The Father judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment 48-
unto the Son. If any man hear my words and believe not, I
judge him not : He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words,
546
THE CONFESSION OF SINS.
B. X.
CHAP. I.
John, xvii.
14.
Mark xiii.
11.
2 John. 9.
1 Cor. iii.
16, and vi.
19.
Acts, xix.
18.
Mat. xxiv,
26.
John, iii.
20, 21.j
2 Cor. iv. 7,
hath one that judgeth him: the Word that I have spoken, the
same shall judge him in the last day."
39. It was the Word, dwelling in the saints, which was to
judge the world at the last day; accordingly Jesus said, " I have
given them thy word. It is not ye that speak, but the Holy
Spirit." Hence it is written, "He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, hath both the Father and the Son. Know ye not that
ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you? "
40. And therefore, Christ, dwelling and abiding in his saints,
did, in and by them, hear and judge of all things pertaining to
salvation. And as there was no other name given under heaven
among men, whereby any could be saved, but by Christ, and Christ
dwelt in his saints, and they in him ; so there was no other medium
under heaven, where God could be found to salvation, or where
true remission of sins could be obtained.
41. As God is all-seeing, and knows the most secret thoughts,
words and actions of all men ; so in this respect, nothing can be
covered from him, nor uncovered before him ; therefore when
many that believed came and confessed and showed their deeds,
they did not go into the desert, or some secret place to find God,
and confess their sins, as many do now-a-days; but they came to
the Apostles, who were "the light of the world," and brought
their deeds to the light, and shewed them.
42. In this was substantially fulfilled, according to the mea-
sure of that dispensation, what was so abundantly spoken of, in
the Law and the Prophets, about confessing sins to God. Hence
said Christ, "Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither
cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he
that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made
manifest, that they are wrought in God."
43. The greatest power that Christ has is that which per-
tains to the remission of sins, and salvation. And as the Son
of man had power on earth to forgive sins ; so he gave the same
power unto his followers, whom he had chosen to give the know-
ledge of salvation to the world, which treasure was comviitted to
earthen vessels. Whose soever sins they remitted, they were
remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins they retained, they
were retained.
44. This was the true order and power in which the primitive
Church stood. And, although the power of the holy people was
scattered, and the true order in the confession and forgiveness of
sins was perverted and lost; during the reign of antichrist : yet
according to the most pointed testimony of both Prophets and
Apostles, the same power, and greater, was to be restored and
given unto the saints in the latter day.
45. Agreeable to the vision of Daniel, Judgment was given
B. X. THE CONFESSION OF SINS. 547
to the saints of the Most High. And according to Obadiah, CHAP- I-
Saviours shall come upon mount Zion, 1o judge the mount of Dau.vii.
Esau, and the kingdom shall he the Lord's. oi^di7'
46. The judgment of Esau, which is Edom, or old Adam, is
thus described by the Prophet Jeremiah: "I have made Esau Jer.xlix.
bare, I have uncovered his secret places and he shall not be 10' 2a
able to hide himself. And at that day shall the heart of the men
of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs." That is,
pained to be delivered of those abominations which they know
must come to the light.
47. The same thing was testified by all the Prophets who
spake of the work of the latter day, from Enoch the seventh
from Adam, to John the last of the inspired Apostles ; as it is
written, Behold the Lord comet h in ten thousand of his saints, J"deJ 14>
to execute judgment wpon all. — And I saw ihrones, and they sat Rev. xx. 4.
wpon them, and judgment was given unto them.
48. So universally believed and known was this matter, among
all who ever stood in any light or order of God, that St. Paul ex-
presses it as a matter of astonishment that any should be so
ignorant as not to know it: Do ye not know that the saints shall icor. vi.2.
judge the world.
49. Then, as the revelation of God is given in this day of
Christ's second appearing, by which the secrets of the heart are
searched out, and the real power of salvation administered : so
this Word of salvation is sent unto all that are weary of sin, and
desire to be stripped of all that is contrary to the pure nature of
Christ, and released from the bondage of corruption.
50. Every one that doeth truth, cometh to the light, confess-
ing and shewing their deeds, that their deeds may be made
manifest that they are wrought in God. And as sin is ever a Uno.iii.4.
transgression of the law, and not one jot or tittle of the law can
in any wise fail, till the whole be fulfilled; so, in order to obtain
a final forgiveness, an honest and full confession of every sin, in
the order of God, will forever be indispensably necessary, while
one sin remains concealed in the earth.
51. No person living will freely and honestly confess all their
most secret sins before another, as in the sight of God and his
witness, but from the most sincere and upright principle. And
there is no person of feeling and candor, but will acknowledge,
that the principle which would lead any one, honestly to bring
their dark deeds to the light, and to witness against them, is not
the same principle which led the person to commit sin and keep
it concealed.
52. For as it is the nature and disposition of fallen man to
commit sin in the dark, and keep it concealed ; so it is the nature
of the Spirit of God, and the disposition of those who are led
thereby, to bring every secret abomination, and hidden work of
548 THE SUFFERINGS OP JESUS CHRIST, B. X.
chap, ii. darkness to light ; and the former is as contrary to the latter as
midnight darkness is opposite to the brightness of the meridian
sun.
53. Hence the Lord promised to "search Jerusalem with
Zeph. i. 12. candles." And Jesus expressly declares, "There is nothing
covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be
Luke,xii.2. known." So sure then as his words are truth, every secret sin
will yet come to light, either in mercy or judgment. Happy are
24T25'5' ^ie^' wnose s*ns §° beforehand to judgment, that they may not
follow after to condemnation ; for such shall have mercy. No soul
can cover his sins from God, but he may cover them from His
Prov appointed order; but such as do this shall not prosper; and they
xxviii. 13. will be sure to be brought to light by the just judgments of
God.
54. And therefore, in the present day, all such as receive the
grace of God, which bringeth salvation, first honestly bring their
former deeds of darkness to the light, by confessing all their sins,
& l ioim, with a full determination to forsake them forever. By so doing
11 e- they find justification and acceptance with God, and receive that
power by which they become dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto
God, through Jesus Christ, and are enabled to follow his example,
and walk even as he walked.
CHAPTER II.
THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, IN THE WORK OF
REGENERATION.
From what has been stated concerning the coming of Christ, it
is evident that every step of his coming, from first to last, was
contrary to the wisdom of this world ; and, although he was in the
world, yet the world knew him not: and as little did they know
whence he came, or whither he went when he departed out of the
world.
2. Instead of descending through the air, from some unknown
region, in a splendid appearance, and ascending in like manner,
he first was revealed in the Son of man, who came forth from
such a cloud as all other infants come from; and at whose
departure, a cloud received him out of sight. The truth is, Jesus
was born into the world, and he was born out of it ; and his being
Heb ii. 13.
B. X. IN THE WORK OF REGENERATION. 549
born into the world was one birth, and his being born out of it CHAP- ir-
was another.
3. And, although millions had been born into the world before
him, yet he was the first who was actually born out of the world.
And as the world were dead in trespasses and, sins, and as Jesus
was descended from that nature, for he was "made of a woman,
made under the law," and rose out of it by the travail of re-
generation, he was therefore properly called the first-begotten
from the dead, and the first-born of many brethren. For being
found in fashion as a man, with all the propensities of mankind,
and in all things made like unto his brethren, in things natural,
and being tempted in all points as they were, it was necessary
that he should be Divinely begotten, and conceived by the
Holy Spirit, in relation to a second birth, or being born again.
4. And by him the Holy Spirit of Truth first practically
taught the doctrine of the second birth. " Marvel not that I said Johniii.7.
unto you, Ye must be born again. Verily I say unto you, that 28.
ye who have followed me [or rather, who shall have followed me,]
in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne
of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel."
5. Here then was the true design of Jesus coming into the
world, not to continue in the nature and spirit which, in behalf
of man's redemption, he received, through the medium of
a fallen woman ; but to overcome and be regenerated, or born
out of it, into a state of immortality and eternal life, that others
might follow him in the same example. Thus he became the Heb "• 13,
Father of all the children of the regeneration.
6. It is expressly said, that Jesus was the first-born, (in
Christ) and that he was to be followed in the regeneration; and
as he came into the world by water and blood, as other infants
do, by which means he being of the seed of Abraham, he inherited
the nature and enmity of fallen man, and in this sense millions
were born into the world before him ; therefore it is to be cer-
tainly understood that he was regenerated and born again : for in
truth, he could not teach others to follow him in a way which he
did not walk himself: and he expressly testifies, Except a man johniii.5.
be born of water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the king-
dom of God,.
7. Accordingly Christ Jesus himself opened the way into the
kingdom of God, by a real spiritual birth ; and all who ever
possess that kingdom, must enter in by the same way, after his
example ; therefore it is in vain for any to stand gazing up into
the natural heavens, in hopes of seeing the sons of God ascend
or descend, seeing the children of God come forth into his family,
by being born again, as much as the children of this world are
bom into the society of men.
550 THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, B. X.
chap, ii. g_ ^nd as ^c Spiritual Urth is as real as the natural, and
the manner of the one is as expressly declared as the other,
and as certainly known by the spiritual man ; so from the
time that the new man is begotten, he as really grows up into
the nature and likeness of him that begat, as the natural man,
from his conception, grows up into the nature and likeness of his
father.
9. As the natural man is conceived in a body, and while in the
generation consists of two parts, and those two parts are fully
and finally separated, in his actual birth, so that the tie by which
they were united, is cut off forever, and the inner part comes
forth in perfect shape, with all the features of the father; so in
the regeneration there are two, called the flesh and Spirit, both
in the same body, and the one is enclosed in, and bound by the
other, from which it must come forth, and be separated, and
wholly cut off, before it can enter the kingdom of G-od.
10. And as the natural infant, within the second veil, in the
womb of its mother, is in a state of ignorance of what passes
among the living, until it has been brought forth, progressively
matured, and borne upon the sides, and dandled upon the knees,
and comes to sufficient age for knowledge ; so is the natural
man, covered up in the womb of nature's darkness, wallowing
in the blood of his nativity, and is in an ignorant state of the
spiritual birth, any further than he is brought forth, separated
and cut off from the tie of the flesh, by which his soul is held
in bondage.
11. Hence the Lord by the Prophet, speaking figuratively of
Ezek.xvi. Jerusalem in her natural state, and of the second birth or new
creation, says, " Thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, thy
navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple
thee: thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. And
when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood,
I said unto thee in thy blood, Live ; yea, I said unto thee in thy
blood, Live."
12. Such, in a true spiritual sense, is the highest perfection of
man in his natural state, like an infant unloosed, wallowing in
the blood of its nativity, and without a deliverance, and final
separation from that in which he is held, must perish without
remedy.
13. As nothing is born without a separation, and no separa-
tion can take place without suffering ; so that which bears must
suffer in proportion to the nature and quality of that which it
bears, and that which is born is liable to suffer in proportion to
the natural or inherent relation in which it stands to that which
bore it, until it is weaned from that relation.
14. And as that which beareth is first in the order of things,
and not that which is born ; and as that is first which is natural,
B. X. IN THE WORK OF REGENERATION. 551
and not that which is spiritual ; therefore, that which is natural chap, ii.
and earthly suffers death in the work of regeneration, while that
which is spiritual, and heavenly, is quickened and made alive in
the soul ; and the soul can only suffer in proportion to the
connexion, the near or distant .relation in which it stands to
that which is natural, until the natural is overcome by the
spiritual.
15. The inner or new man in Christ Jesus, was borne by the
outer man, or in other words, that which was spiritual was with-
in that which was natural, and was brought forth out of that
which was natural and old. And hence, as sin captivated the
soul, and occupied that which was natural and old, and the suf-
ferings of Christ Jesus for the redemption of souls, began in
Christ's first appearing; therefore the sufferings must continue
in his second appearing, until the work of regeneration is com-
pleted, and that which is natural and old, is finally overcome by
the new.
16. Upon this distinction between the natural and spiritual
body, hangs the whole of the Apostles' doctrines ; take away that
distinction, and the whole New Testament must appear, to
every man of common sense, as the most absurd and incredible
romance.
17. But admit that the Apostles meant as they wrote, that
there was a natural body and a spiritual body then existing,
and that the natural was first in the order of visible things, and
afterwards the spiritual, the whole may be understood in the most
perfect consistency.
18. This distinction between the natural and spiritual body,
is variously expressed, by the old man and the new man;
the first Adam and the second Adam; which in substance
make one and the same distinction. And as each body must
have a mind, or centre of influence, from whence proceeded
all its operations ; so the Apostles as plainly distinguish be-
tween the carnal mind, or mind of the flesh, which is enmity
against God, and the spiritual mind, or mind which was in
Christ.
19. And as the first, or carnal mind decreased, the second
or spiritual mind increased; as the second was set at liberty,
the first became a captive; as the first suffered, the second
triumphed; as the first died, the second revived; and finally,
when the first was completely dead, being crucified, the second
was completely alive and glorified, and in the full and perfect
stature of a new creature, self-existent aud wholly independent
of the old forever.
20. From this principle of a distinction and separation, between
that which is natural, and that which is spiritual, the fundamental
doctrines relating to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, arise ; which
552 THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, B. X.
chap, ii. are stated in such plain terms, through the New Testament, that
no candid and enlightened mind can mistake the sense.
21. Those who do not make a clear distinction between Christ
as the Divine Spirit, and Jesus as a man, equally confound the
flesh and Spirit, generation and regeneration, the old man and
the new man, and even good and evil ; for the idea that Christians
cannot live out of sin, arises from the want of this distinction.
Jesus plainly showed the difference between himself as a man,
and the original Christ, the Divine Spirit that anointed and dwelt
with him.
22. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked
them, " What think ye of Christ ? whose son is he ? " They say,
"The son of David. " He saith, " How then doth David in spirit,
Mat, xxii. call him Lord, The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then
call him Lord, how is he his son?" No wonder that no man
was able to answer him, for they knew no distinction between the
"quickening Spirit, the Lord from heaven," and the earthly
man; nor have most professors understood any better to this
clay.
23. And doubtless Jesus here designed to show that Christ,
the real Son of God, was not the offspring of flesh and blood,
and thus to make a plain distinction between the first Anointed
of heaven, and the first Anointed on earth ; that it might be under-
l Tim. vi, stood in the fullness of time. But the distinction is still more
Rev/xxii. plainly declared, "I am the root and the offspring of David."
16- This could not refer to the man Jesus only ; for if he was the
offspring of David, it is impossible that he should be his root.
24. But if it is understood that the Christ was the original
Son of God, then it is evident, he was the root of all the human
race, especially of those in the line of the promise, which David
represented; and also that this Spirit dwelt with, Anointed, and
inspired Jesus, in the work of redemption. Then we may see
the propriety of the foregoing saying.
25. For Jesus was the offspring of David ; he was the Son of
man, or the true heir of man, as originally created of God, and
being anointed with the fulness of the Divine Spirit, he was
the first Anointed of the human race, therefore, he was their
Redeemer. But the Divine Christ was the Son whom God had
Hei>. 1.2. appointed Heir of all things.
26. The birth of Jesus is stated as being in the natural
appearance of common humanity ; that he grew in stature, and
in favor with God and man; that he was subject to his supposed
parents until he was of age ; that he received the Holy Spirit,
suffered and died, as to the common course and principles of
nature ; that he became obedient to his heavenly Father, even
unto death ; that he learned obedience by the things he suffered ;
B. X. IN THE WORK OP REGENERATION. 553
that he was made perfect through sufferings ; that he suffered in chap, ii.
the flesh, but was quickened, or made alive in the Spirit; that 1 Pet. iv. 1.
he died unto sin; but was made alive unto God.
27. That having finished his work on earth, in that human
form which was put to death by the Jews, he departed, and
afterwards appeared again, in different forms, to his disciples, and
showed himself alive, by many infallible proofs, in his spiritual
state of existence, until he vanished wholly out of their sight, as
to natural appearance; that they suffered and died as he did,
after his example, and spiritually they rose, and sat together zoith Eph. ii. 6.
him in heavenly places.
28. Therefore it is a positive deception, that many have lain
under, who have imagined that the holy, harmless, and undefiled
Son of God, suffered and died in the room and stead of sinners,
to rescue them from that death and punishment which they
deserved ; and that his sufferings and death fully satisfied Divine
justice; so that no further sufferings were necessary for the sal-
vation of mankind.
29. What mind, upon the slightest reflection, could admit that
Jesus of Nazareth suffered and died in the room and stead of the
patriarchs and prophets ? when it is testified that they had trial
of cruel mockings, and scourgings, of bonds and imprisonment :
that they were stoned, were sawn asunder, were tempted, were Heb. xi.
slain with the sword ; that they wandered about in sheep skins
and goat skins, in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented.
30. As well might Jesus have argued, that the fathers had
died in his room and stead, that he might live as a universal
monarch upon earth, as that any of his followers should draw
such an inconsistent and groundless inference from his sufferings.
For it is clearly manifest from his discourses to his disciples, that
a great part of his doctrines, as well as the whole of his example,
was expressly to encourage them to undergo the same sufferings
which he suffered, and to die the death that he died.
31. And, as the sufferings exhibited in the bringing forth of
the first-born, were designed as a perfect example, and were but
the real beginning ; so it was the highest aim of his true follow-
ers to copy after that example, in enduring the same sufferings
which he also suffered ; being fully persuaded, as the Apostle
expresses it, that, If we are dead with Christ, ive shall also l Tim. ii.
live with him : If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with jj1^' viii
him. And again, If so be that toe suffer with [or in conformity 17.
to] him, that we may be glorified together.
32. This is the whole tenor of the doctrines of the Apostles,
concerning the sufferings of Jesus Christ; that as he suffered, so
did they ; and as the body is not complete without the Head, so
neither is the Head complete without the body ; and each mem-
36
554 THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, &C. B. X.
chap. II. foer of the body suffers in a just proportion as the members bear
a proportion to the Head : so that in all things, the first-born had
the pre-eminence.
33. Therefore, Christ Jesus having sufferedjhis proportion as
the Head, every member of the body, according to their several
lots and offices, fill up their proportion of the sufferings of Christ,
that the whole may be perfected and glorified together. Hence
Col. i.24. saith the Apostle to the Collossians, "Who now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is left behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is
the Church."
Rom vi.3, 34. And to the Romans he says : " Know ye not, that so many
4' 6i of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his
death? Therefore we are buried with (or in conformity to) him
by baptism into death. Knowing this, that our old man is
crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin "
35. But the sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, both in
relation to the Head and members of the anointed body, were,
strictly speaking, the crucifixion, sufferings, and death of the flesh,
the old man of sin, who was crucified and put to death by a daily
Gal. m 13. cross. " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
iPet.ii.24, (saith Paul,) being made a curse for us. Who his own self bare
our sins in his own body on the tree, (saith Peter,) by whose
stripes ye were healed."
36. But how was he made a curse for them ? how did he bear
their sins ? and how were they healed by his stripes ? was it
without suffering as he did, in the works of regeneration ?
In nowise. The history of their whole life and testimony
witnesses to the contrary. But it was by following his example,
and walking in his steps, that souls were, or ever can be,
redeemed from a fallen nature, and consequently from the curse
of the law.
lPet. ii. 21. 37. Hence, says Peter, " For hereunto were ye called ; because
iv. l, 2. Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye
should foil oiv his steps. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind :
for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin ; that
he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the
lusts of men, but to the will of God."
38. Thus the sufferings of Christ do not merely respect Jesus,
the Head, or first-born of his body, as having ceased from sin by
suffering in the flesh ; but every member of his body, who hath
suffered in the flesh, after his example, hath ceased from sin :
For if the root be holy, so are the branches ; and being cruci-
fied, in conformity to the example of Christ Jesus, they are" dead
unto sin, and cannot live any longer therein.
B. X. THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 555
39. But what kind of a body would it be to have sin wholly chap. nr.
abolished out of the Head, and the enmity reigning in all the
members ? A pure Head, and members wholly corrupt. "A
Head obedient unto death, and heels kicking against heaven." Boston.
Can such be the body of Christ? Nay verily. "If one mem- 1CoT ■■
ber suffer, all the members suffer with [or in conformity to] it." 26.
And all the members are partakers of these sufferings, and have i3Petlv'
a fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his Phil- »' ■ 10-
death.
CHAPTER III.
THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH.
The Head of every man is Christ, and the Head of Christ is God.
So when Christ cometh into the world, his language is, %'Lo, I Heb. x. 7.
come to do thy will, O God." By which will we are sanctified, 10> u-
(says the Apostle,) through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ, once for all : that is a final offering. And thus by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. But
the offering up of the body once for all, is more than the offer-
ing up of the Head, it includes the whole body, from the Head to
the least member.
2. And as Christ Jesus was sanctified by being obedient to
the vrill of his Father and Head, in offering up himself; so each
member of his body is sanctified by the same will, in being
obedient to their Head, and in offering up themselves once for all :
and thus the whole body is sanctified and perfected forever, by
one offering, which is one and the same in relation to the Head
and the members.
3. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through
sufferings, and became the author of eternal salvation to all them
that obey him ; and as he was obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross, and died to all and every part of that fallen
nature; so that nature became eternally dead as to him.
4. Hence the Apostle justly concludes, that we who live,
should henceforth not live unto ourselves, but unto him who set
this example of dying, and who was by Christ raised from the
dead. " Wherefore, henceforth know we no man after the 2Cor. v.
flesh : and expressly adds, If any man be in Christ, he is a new 16' 17'
556 THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH. B. X.
chap. in. creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become neiv ; and all things are of God."
2. Tim. i. 5. Then it was not Christ, the quickening Spirit, the Lord
Ei ii 15 from heaven, that died ; but on the contrary, he abolished death,
16. ' and brought life and immortality to light, having abolished in
his flesh the enmity. But Jesus, on account of that sinful
Eph. ii. is. nature which he had in his flesh, to slay and abolish, frequently
suffered pain and sorrow of soul, both in relation to himself
and those whom he came to redeem ; until he gave up his life
in sufferings.
C. Hence we read of his being tempted of the devil ; spend-
ing whole nights in prayer to Gk>d who was able to deliver him ;
Aveeping over Jerusalem ; and of his sufferings in the garden,
when in an agony he cried, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto
death. Such was the nature of his sufferings in the flesh, until
that enmity which was in his human nature was slain, and that
death abolished, as to him : and hence he rose triumphant over
" death and the grave.''''
7. Therefore it was not he who abolished death and slew the
enmity, that finally suffered or died ; but that enmity which, in
his own flesh, he abolished and sletv, by a daily cross ; and
whereby he set the example for others to slay the enmity in their
own flesh, as he had done in his.
8. From all which it is most evident that it was not the Son
of God that suffered the wrath of his Father ; nor was there any
design in the case to release the sinner from the punishment
Heb. ii. 14. which was his just desert. But on the contrary, "As the child-
ren are partakers of flesh and blood, so Jesus himself likewise
partook of the same : that through death he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is the devil."
9. But there was no changing the nature of things in the case,
or converting holiness into sin, or life into death ; for that which
he received he inhabited and possessed, and that which he pos-
sessed he destroyed, and in destroying it he destroyed that part of
death which he received, and him that had the power of it : but he
did not destroy himself, nor was it either Grod, or the Son of
G-od, that either died or was destroyed on the occasion.
10. But this is evident, that it was flesh and blood, sin
and death, (neither of which can enter into the kingdom of Clod,)
which, according to the Apostles, strictly speaking, suffered
and was destroyed. Not that all sin and death was by him
destroyed, which has reigned in the world ever since ; but so
far as the first-born in the new creation bears a proportion to
the whole of that creation, or as the Head bears a proportion to
the whole body.
11. He died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth
unto God. And unto whatsoever he died, unto the same he also
B. X. THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 557
suffered ; and therefore it was unto that which had the nature chap, hi.
and root of sin that he suffered. Not that innocence and justice
suffered in the room and stead of sins, therefore the same that
finally suffered also died ; and that which died never did, and
never will rise again to life.
12. And therefore the plain and pointed contrast is continued,
and the death is said to be once, or final, and the coming forth
into life parallel on the other side, being put to death in the flesh,
and coming forth in the Spirit. Which is perfectly the same as
crucifying the flesh toith its affections and lusts, and vmlking
after the Spirit ; or putting to death that which is flcshhj,
sensual and devilish, and bringing forth into eternal life that
which is spiritual, pure, and of God ; and not bringing to life
again the same that was put to death : For if I build again the
things that I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
13. And thou that sayest, God died for sinners, and rose
again, what advantage could it be for a holy Being to be made
flesh and sin, and as such to suffer and die, and as such to rise
again, that the sinner in the flesh and in sin, might lie wallowing
in the blood of his nativity in reconciliation with God ?
14. As the human and Divine natures, or rather the sinful
nature, and that of holiness, met together in Christ Jesus, doubt-
less it was necessary that one or the other should suffer and die;
either that which was natural, pertaining to flesh and blood, or
that which was spiritual and of God.
15. But as that which was natural was the earthly part, and
that which was spiritual was the Lord from heaven, it could not
be the quickening Spirit, or Spirit of Anointing, which consti-
tuted Jesus the Lord and Saviour, that suffered and died ; but
that which was natural, fallen, and earthly, which the Lord Jesus
overcame and abolished.
16. And speaking exclusively of the sinful nature, that the
natural part, which was subject to weariness and pain, did
die, is indisputable ; and if the Lord from heaven died, then
neither obtained the victory ; nor could either be said to be
immortal ; for, in the strictest sense of death, that which is
immortal cannot die; nor can it suffer, except as a consequence
of its being joined to that which was its opposite, and, in reality,
deserves both to suffer and die.
17. Thus, in the person of Jesus, the flesh and Spirit, or
the nature of sin and holiness, strode like blood and fire upon
the altar, until the blood was consumed by the fire; so the
flesh or nature of sin was overcome and consumed by the
Spirit.
18. But it would spo'm that the suffering and death of God,
in the room and stead of sinful flesh, was a doctrine reserved
for those latter times of departing, or standing off from the
558
THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH.
B. X.
CHAP. Ill
Watts.
faith, and bringing in damnable heresies, even denying the only
Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
19. If "God the Mighty Maker died for man the creature's
Eccl. is.- 4.
sin ; or if God
is a sacrifice
Rom. viii.
34.
Gal. ii, 20.
himself comes down
or sin offering, well
to be the offerina:-
and
might the beast and the
false prophet rejoice at his death : for it must bo the living
that have the dominion ; and the living must be superior to the
dead.
20. According to the true proverb, "a living dog is better
than a dead lion." And, upon the same principle, a living man
is better than a dying or dead God. For that which is dead can
never raise itself to life ; and if the dead are raised, it must be
by the power of the living. Therefore, if sinners were real
enemies to God, and he actually died in their stead, that they
might live in sin, and in their blood, during life, and be saved
from punishment hereafter, it certainly depended on the living
whether the dead should ever rise.
21. Wo to him that is alone, for if he fall who shall help him
up ? Hence the necessity of another link in this chain of dark-
ness, " Behold a God descends and dies." That is, one of the
Gods dies, to satisfy the justice and appease the wrath of the
others, in behalf of sinners ; and the others, as soon as they were
satisfied, raised up the dead one : and the dead one, after he was
raised up, stood day and night, perpetually showing his wounds,
and pleading before his Father-, that he suffered and died in the
room and stead of sinners, as a satisfaction to his justice.
22. But what God, or what justice, could take satisfaction in
beholding the rnarks of cruelty in the innocent, while the guilty
went unpunished ? Such black and infernal darkness, is too dis-
gusting to the reason of man, and too distressing to any enlight-
ened soul, to merit a serious investigation ; but must be sent
back, with the beast and false prophet, to the bottomless pit, from
whence it arose.
23. The truth is, that as two contrary natures, the flesh and
Spirit, the seed of the serpent and the seed of God, met in one
visible human form, both were included under one common
name, until they were gradually separated, and the serpentine
nature suffered and died,
24. From this mysterious contrariety of two natures, in one
external form, the Apostles are frequently under the necessity
of using apparent contradictions : Thus St. Paul, "It is Christ
that died, yea, rather that is rism. I am crucified with Christ :
nevertheless Hive; yet not 7, but Christ liveth in me."
25. So Christ Jesus is said to ha\* two natures in him, not
united, but at pointed variance ; and, wht11 it is said that Christ
Jesus suffered and died, and rose again, and ascended up into
glory, these things are plainly and expressly ascribed to those
B. X. THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH. 559
distinct natures respectively, according to the character and just CHAP IIL
desert of each.
26. So that the sufferings and death of Christ Jesus, both in
relation to the head and members of his body, in the strictest
sense, applies to that old nature of the first Adam in its fallen
state, which is a state of death, out of which the new man
arose, and from which he became fully and finally separated,
and ascended into the Divine nature and likeness of his
Father, as the first-born and first-fruit in the work of redemp-
tion.
27. And, as the redemption of Christ's body had respect to the
full Headship and membership of the redeemed, or all who should
be regenerated and born again ; and as his second appearing was
to be in the second part of man's fallen nature ; therefore, the suf-
ferings of that nature could never be filled up, in their full and
perfect measure, as to the order of both male and female, until
the second appearing of Christ actually took place in the order
of the female.
28. And therefore, the blessed Mother of our redemption, in
Christ, suffered her due proportion, and died, upon the same
fundamental principles that the sufferings and death of Jesus,
the Father of our redemption, were necessary in Christ's first
appearing.
29. And in that she died, she died unto sin, once for all, as he
did, and revived, and rose again, and ascended into the same
Divine nature and everlasting union in the Spirit ; and being re-
generated and born out of the corrupt nature of the first woman,
she was the first-born and first-fruit unto Grod in the order of
the female, having in all points been tempted like as they are ;
but after she was called, through the power of God, she never
yielded to the tempter, that she might be able to succor those
that are tempted.
30. And as the sufferings of Christ, or of the anointed body,
"the Church," were not filled up in his first appearing, hence
said the Apostle, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present Rom. viii.
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall ™> 39> 22>
be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For we know
that the whole creation groaneth, and travaileth in pain together
until now. [That is, until this glory should be revealed, and the
sons of God manifested.] And even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body."
31. So far then, were the Apostles from teaching that any
one individual suffered in the room and stead of another.
They state the plain undeniable fact, confirmed by the history
of all ages, that truth and virtue were never preserved in the
560
THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH.
B. X.
CHAP. III.
suffering saints
and
Da vies'
Poems.
Erskme's
Sonnets.
2 Cor
6.
2 Tim.
10.
i, 5,
Or, on the other hand, from
full of the wrath of God be
vision, long after the death
seat of the
earth, but through a constant succession of
martyrs.
32. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, which
was shed between the porch and the altar ; and again, from the
blood of John the Baptist, to the blood of William Robinson,
and others, which cries to heaven, even from this American
paradise of freedom, virtue was ever attended with a proportion-
able degree of sufferings.
33. Could justice be satisfied, and yet millions, from age to
age, suffer and die, by increasing agonies and modes of torture
before unknown? And, if the groans and dying pangs, the
pains and blood of an "incarnate Godhead," as Bavies expresses
it, could not be withstood: or if the burning th?-onehad been
siifficiently cooled off, by the blood of Jesus, and he had " drunk
hell dry," as Erskine expresses it, what then? had justice no
power to stop the prosecution?
whence could those seven vials
collected, which John saw in
of Jesus, preparing to destroy the kingdom and
beast ?
34. The truth is, justice never was, nor ever will be satisfied
with any thing short of the total destruction of sin : and there-
fore, while the nature of sin remained, it had to suffer in those who,
after the example of Jesus Christ, took up their cross against it.
And while the enmity raged in the children of disobedience, those
who took up their cross against sin, had always to endure out-
ward afflictions, and persecutions, which turned to them for a
testimony, in every age.
35. And as the work of redemption was to become full and
effectual in Christ's second appearing, and the man of sin to be
wholly consumed and destroyed ; so in the accomplishment of
that work, the sufferings of Christ's body must necessarily be
filled up, in their full and perfect measure through which the
fruits of righteousness will appear in their full perfection, with
eternal glory.
36. And as all the faithful witnesses suffered, to suppor tthe
cause of truth in the earth, and in confirmation of their testimony
concerning that day ; so justice, both in heaven and among men,
is satisfied, when sin and death are abolished through suffer-
ings, and righteousness, truth, and eternal life grow up in their
place.
37. This was manifestly the Apostle's meaning when he said,
" The sufferi?igs of Christ abound in us. And whether we be
afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual
in the enduring the same sufferings, which we also suffer." And
again, "I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may
also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal
B. X.
THE NEW AND SPIRITUAL BIRTH.
561
glory." Which is according to the words of Jesus, " Ye shall chap hi.
indeed drink of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that Mat. si.
I a»i baptized with." 23-
38. Then as that Spirit of truth and holiness, -which gave
occasion to the sufferings of the saints in the flesh, continued to
flow from witness to witness, and from age to age; so all the
afflictions which they endured, remained as a witness with God,
against those lusts and abominations of a fallen nature, by which
the earth was corrupted, and against which they took up their
cross.
39. And therefore, instead of using the blood of Jesus, or any
of his followers, to pacify an offended Deity, and reconcile him
to the beast, the false prophet, or the devil; the whole of that
blood is represented as stored up in seven vials, [referring to the Rev. xv. &,
ages,*] and all of it to be poured out, to execute his righteous xvl'
vengeance on the workers of iniquity ; that such as had shed the
blood of saints and Prophets, should have blood to drink, because
they are worthy.
40. Hence the proud, and all that do wickedly, are compared
to stubble, and it was expressly said, The day that cometh Mai. iv. l.
[referring to Christ's second appearing] shall burn them up, that
it shall leave them neither root nor branch. A day in which
God promised to open a fountain for sin and uncleanness, and Zech. xiii.
bring his people through the fire, and refine them as silver is
refined, and try them as gold is tried.
41. To this period the words of God by the Prophet Zecha-
riah allude : "1 will pour upon the house of David, and upon the Zech. xii-
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications ;
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him."
42. hi that day there shall be a great, mourning in Jerusa-
lem : and the land shall mourn, every family apart ; the family
of the house of David apart, and their wives apart ; the family
of the house of Nathan apart and their ivives apart ; all the
families that remain every family apart and their wives apart."
Here is the true cause why Christ said, Then shall all the tribes ^atxxlv«
of the earth mourn. That is, because of the separation from all Rev. i. 7.
the ties and works of the flesh, which centre in the selfish nature
•Chronologers have generally admitted that the Scriptures arid records of history
have pointed out seven successive ages in the progressive developement of the
world: and that the seventh general age is now in operation. But they have
made a great error, in beginning the third age at the call of God to Abraham.
This is an arbitrary division without propriety; for that was only the transition
from the second to the third age, and if called an age, it leaves no age for the
second appearing of Christ, or "the latter day of glory," which is far the most
important age of all ; for it is the consummating work of all the preceding ages ;
this being, evidently, " the voice of the seventh trumpet, when there shall be
time no longer. But the mystery of God shall be finished, in the displays of its
various degrees to the race of man.
562 THE RESURRECTION, NOT OP THE B. X.
chap. iv. of generation. Thus this mourning is " apart from husbands
and, wives" and utterly excludes that relation.
43. Therefore, as Christ Jesus, and his Apostles and true wit-
nesses, patiently suffered to preserve the cause of truth and
righteousness in the earth, and by sealing the truth with their
blood, conveyed and confirmed the same to others, unto whom
the truth was made effectual in the enduring of the same suffer-
ings; so all the benefit of their sufferings meet and centre in
this day of full redemption, which is the end of their faith, for
which they suffered, and in which every one will receive a reward
according to his works.
44. Therefore, all who receive the mercy and grace of God,
in this day of his final visitation, are verily benefited by the
sufferings of Christ, both in his first and second appearing, and by
the sufferings of all the saints and martyrs who have ever suffered
for their testimony, having with them obtained the end of their
faith and promises, and a full and final resurrection into the
kingdom of God, which is everlasting righteousness, peace, and
eternal life.
CHAPTER IV.
THE RESURRECTION, NOT OP THE BODY, BUT OP THE SOUL;
NOT CARNAL, BUT SPIRITUAL.
The truth of God, in all the principles pertaining to the salva-
tion of mankind, is established in this day of Christ's second
appearing ; in which all things will have their full and final
accomplishment, according to all that the Prophets and Apostles
have spoken since the world began.
2. It will be proper, therefore, to take particular notice of
what the Apostles taught concerning the Resurrection ; which,
according to what hath been stated respecting the sufferings of
Christ, was also founded upon the distinction between the natural
body and a spiritual body, the natural world and a world of
spirits.
3. The natural bodies of all men are mortal, and subject to
dissolution, like the bodies of all other animals ; and when dis-
solved back to their native elements, they rise no more in the
B. X. BODY, BUT OF THE SOUL. 5G3
CHAP. IV.
same form. The natural body is called the earthly house of I his
tabernacle, which is the first part of the natural man, of the 2Cor. x. 1.
earth, earthy. Dust it is, and unto dust it returns.
4. But, as everything was created in its order, to serve some
higher purpose than its own self-interest ; and as man was
peculiarly designed for the service of God, and was endowed
with a reasonable soul or a spiritual subsistence, an heir of
immortality ; therefore it is only the soul of man that is the proper
subject of the Resurrection, and is capable of being raised to a
higher use, and more noble enjoyments than pertain to the
present state.
5. Everything in nature that has life and growth, has a seed
in itself, which serves a twofold purpose ; first, to promote its
own species ; and second, to bring forth fruit to some higher order
of beings.
6. Thus God said unto man in his first creation, ''Behold I Gen. i. 29,
have given you every herb bearing seed, and every tree in the
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for
meat. And to every beast of the earth, to every fowl of the
air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein
there is life, I have given every green herb for meat."
7. Then, as nothing liveth to itself, or merely for its own sake,
so it was intended that man should live and bring forth fruit
unto God ; and this fruit was that which pertained to his living
soul, as it is that by which God is truly worshipped and served ;
and therefore the Apostles so frequently speak of a seed, and of
every seed having its own body.
8. All nature teaches that the stalk or tree which bears
seed, when it falls back to the earth, and is dissolved, the same
never rises again into the same form; and no more does the
natural body of man rise again.
9. And it is evident that the seed which was put into the
earth for the purpose of promoting its own species, never
rises to anything higher than it was ; but that which is gathered
as fruit, when it is taken and changed from its natural state, and
dressed for food, in such a manner as best suits him for whom it
is dressed, that alone answers the highest end for which it was
created.
10. And as man, in preparing bread for his own use, does
not raise up the withered stalk upon which the grain grew ; but
separates the pure flour from all that to which it had been
united : so, in like manner, is the resurrection. It is the soul
that is to be redeemed from all iniquity, and purified unto God
in a peculiar manner. Thus said Christ, I am the bread of John,vL35.
life. And again the Apostle, For we, being many, are one
bread, and one body ; for we are all partakers of that one
bread.
564 THE RESURRECTION, NOT OF THE B. X.
chap, iv. 21. And further, as seed that falls back to the earth, and
takes root, and grows there, is forever lost from any higher use ;
so it is with the soul that, upon a deliberate choice, rejects the
Gospel, and chooses to remain in his natural state, after the com-
mon course of the world, and enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season.
Rom. viii. 12. "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if through
the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Thus
life and death is set before every individual soul, upon the most
plain and reasonable terms.
13. As man, by his fall and apostacy from God, became fleshly,
(or carnal,) so as to be wholly captivated by that inferior prin-
ciple, or law in his members, by which he served himself, and
no higher purpose ; therefore, until the way of redemption was
opened from that self-pleasing, and self-promotirfg nature, there
never could be any resurrection.
14. And hence, through all the ages of corruption and depra-
vity, the promise of God had respect to another seed. They
Rom. ix. s. which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of
God ; but the children of promise are counted for the seed.
15. And as Christ Jesus was the first who died a final death
unto sin, and did not his own will, but the will of his Father ;
therefore he was the first fruit of the Resurrection, the first fruit
l cor. xv. unto God, with which he was well pleased. Every one in his
oivn order, Christ the first fruits, afterwards they that are
Christ's at his coming.
16. Herein then consists the true nature of the Resurrection:
When man ceases from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ;
when he dies to himself and lives to God only ; when he ceases
from his own works and does the work of God ; when he
renounces the will of the flesh, and is subject to the will of the
Spirit ; then he is raised from a death of sin to a life of right-
eousness ; and this is his resurrection. Such is the seed which
God hath chosen, to bring forth fruit unto himself, and such are
John, xv. 2. the branches of the true vine, which he will purge, that they
isa. ii. 22. maV bring forth more fruit. Thus, by a progressive growth
&i.Tohn, in the Spirit, they will come forth perfect in the Resurrection
of life, in the very nature of Christ. This is being born of
God.
17. But this precious doctrine of the Resurrection, like all
others that were taught by Christ Jesus and his Apostles, has
been wholly perverted by antichrist, and instead thereof, a false
and senseless superstition has been imposed upon mankind, which
would be too absurd to deserve any notice, had not those dark
ages of antiquity and antichristian authority in which it was
invented, given it a kind of sanction, from which even the present
age is not released.
iii., 9, JO.
B. X. BODY, BUT OF THE SOUL. 565
18. In direct opposition to the doctrine of Christ Jesus, it has chap, iv.
been, and is yet maintained, that it is not the soul of man, but his
natural body, which is the subject of the Resurrection : That,
"the souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holi- Westmin-
ness, and do immediately pass into glory, and their bodies, being chism.1"6"
still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the Resurrection."
19. The inventors of this groundless doctrine, ought to have
known that the souls of true believers never die ; and there-
fore, their being made perfect in holiness, and passing into glory,
is not to be dated at their death, nor is it at any time, imme-
diately, but through the medium of the Gospel, (by which they Eph. iv. 15.
grow up, in all things, into Christ,) that they are made perfect
in holiness.
20. Nor is it a dead corpse that is united to Christ, or to God,
For God is not the God of the dead but of the living. Besides, Mat- xxli-
many of the dead bodies of believers were not suffered to be put
into graves ; and if they had been, the grave could never pre-
serve a dead corpse from dissolving, and blending together with
the common elements of the globe, being, in this respect, nothing
superior to the bodies of other animals.
21. So that such an imaginary resurrection is altogether a
lying vanity ; in following which, the deceived soul forsakes its
own mercy, and from which it must be delivered, or perish for-
ever in its own corruption : for God never promised to invert his
own order of things, nor to revoke his own express declaration
in this particular : Dust thou art and unto dust shall thou return.
22. And as, with us, that is not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual and
eternal ; so the Apostle's doctrine, from beginning to end, has
the most plain and pointed allusion to the spiritual body and
spiritual world, and not to that which is natural.
23. When the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection of the
soul, and the very existence of the spiritual world, questioned
with Jesus concerning the woman who had been the wife of seven
husbands, whose wife she should be in the Resurrection ? His
answer was, " The children of this world marry, and are given in Luke, xx.
marriage : but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain 34-
that world, and the resurrection from the dead,, neither marry,
nor ai*e given in marriage. Neither can they die any more: for
they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, xxe3o!ke'
being the children of the Resurrection."
24. The advocates of the resurrection of the earthly body,
assert that both the righteous and the wicked will be thus raised ; See John,
if this were true, then the wicked become the children of God, v''
equally with the righteous. This is utterly inconsistent.
25. Observe, it was not after they had obtained that world,
and the Resurrection, but whenever they were accounted icorthy
566 THE RESURRECTION OF THE SOUL. B. X.
chap. iv. to obtain it ; that is, when they were begotten by the word of
faith, they began to crucify the flesh with its aifections and lusts,
to die unto sin, and to live unto God, and therefore could not
die any more, being the children of the Resurrection.
John, xi. 26. Hence said Christ, on another occasion, " I am the resur-
251 rection and the life; he that believeth on me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in
hn vi 51 me, shall never die." And again, "lam the living bread which
viii/so1^. came down from heaven: If any man eat of this bread, he shall
live forever." And again, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a
man keep my saying, he shall never see death."
27. This was a great stumbling-block to those who denied the
Resurrection and the life. Hence said the deceived hypocrites,
"Now we know that thou hast a devil. Art thou greater than
our father Abraham, which is dead? and the Prophets are dead:
whom makest thou thyself? "
28. Hence it is evident, that the true doctrine of the Resur-
rection was misunderstood and opposed by a blind and supersti-
tious priesthood, from the beginning ; for by these the common
people were taught.
29. Nor was it truly understood even by the disciples of Jesus
Christ, who had been misguided and corrupted by those blind
guides, until they received the Holy Spirit of life from the dead,
col ii 12 an(i themselves came into the Resurrection, being dead with
2o° ii'i'.'i. ' Christ Jesus from the rudiments of the world, and risen with him,
through the faith of the operation of God, who had raised him
from the dead.
30. Then, and not till then, were all things brought to their
remembrance which Jesus had taught them, and by which they
understood the many infallible proofs, which they had received
of the real resurrection of the Son of God, in the Spirit, and
knew what his rising from the dead should mtan.
31. And they never learned, nor taught to others, that Christ
Jesus re-assumed the same natural subsistence of sinful flesh,
which was laid in a new tomb ; for if they had, the most glaring
contradictions must appear through the whole account.
32. But they spoke of his being quickened in the Spirit, and
seen in the Spirit, and not in the flesh; therefore the contradic-
tion falls upon those who deny his resurrection in the Spirit, and
xendeavor to prove that sin and the curse [for such he was made
'as to the flesh] were raised again to life everlasting.
33. To sum up the whole matter : If Christ is the Resurrection
and the life, then those who come into Christ, partake of his life,
and, in reality, partake of the true resurrection and eternal lift.
This cannot be controverted. Thus are the words of Christ
john;x. 27, Jesus fulfilled, " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
281 they follow me ; and I give unto them eternal life."
B. X. INCONSISTENCY OF, &C. 507
CHAPTER V.
THE INCONSISTENCY OP A CARNAL RESURRECTION.
It is clearly manifest, according to the sense of the Gospel, that chap. v.
the rising from the dead had no respect to the resurrection of the
natural body or tabernacle of Jesus, nor of any of his followers,
inasmuch as it was testified that he was the first-begotten and Col. i. is.
first-born from the dead.
2. In the natural sense of a resurrection, some had been raised
from the dead, among the Jews, before Jesus ; so that he could
not be the first. Elijah had raised the widow's son ; and Elisha
had raised the Shunamite's son; Lazarus had been raised, and
the widow's son at Nain. So that if the Apostles had intended
to testify that the dead corpse of Jesus had been raised to life
again, they had more sense of the truth than to say that he was
the first-fruits of them that slept, or the first that should rise i cor. v. 29.
from the deaa.
3. The truth is, that Jesus was formed in the state of those who i peter, iii.
were dead in trespasses and sins ; and it was out of this state of 18- & iv- 6-
death that he arose, and not again in the likeness of the same
sinful flesh.
4. Who is he that ascended, but the same also that descended ?
It was not therefore the natural body and soul of Jesus that
ascended, for this was brought forth by a natural woman ; and
as it never descended from heaven, so neither was it that which
ascended; but his soul and spirit rose by regeneration, in the iieb. iv.14.
resurrection of Christ, and ascended to the heaven of heavens.
5. The Apostles further testified that they were dead and Rom. vi. 3.
buried, and risen with Christ, and sat together with him in p;lh H 6
heavenly places; therefore it must be a very great mistake to «v. lb
suppose that they had any reference to a natural death, (as it is
called,) or to any carnal resurrection of the same natural body,
when their very existence, like that of other men, must have con-
tradicted their own testimony.
6. It would seem a wonderful argument with some, that it
was the same wounded body of Jesus, that arose from the Head ;
because he appeared unto his disciples with his wounds, and eat
and drank with them ; while they arc ignorant that his spiritual
body was capable of assuming any form or appearance that might
encourage the faith of his disciples.
7. But how much soever the inconsistent inventions and false
systems of antichrist, may have blinded the minds of natural
men ; yet that order can never be inverted, in which God has
Col. iii. 3.
568
INCONSISTENCY OF
B. X.
CHAP. V.
Mat.
xxviii. 2, 4.
Deut.
xxxiv 6.
Jude, 9
See also
Joseplms.
Rom. vi,
23.
1 Cor. xv.
22.
created things natural and spiritual, the one for time and tem-
poral use, and the other for eternity.
8. The spiritual body, while in the natural, is confined to
time, space, and natural things ; but when separated, and
released from it, the natural is of no further use ; nor can they
ever be reunited without the grossest subversion of every order
and law of G-od.
9. And if the same natural body that was crucified of the
Jews, arose from the dead, and could enter into the house when
the doors were shut, why did not the same body come forth out
of the tomb without assistance ? Where was the necessity of
striking the keepers of the sepulchre with terror, that they might
become like dead men, and rolling away the stone from the
tomb's mouth.
10. The truth is, no one material substance can pass through
another, without making a breach ; and therefore, in order that
his spiritual body might enter a close room while the doors
were shut, the natural body was taken care of by the angel,
who rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre ; and
thus, in the order and nature of things, one thing was taken out
of the way of another, that the everlasting substance might
appear.
11. The Lord took care of the body of Moses, and no man
knew of his sepulchre unto this day: Yet Satan had the
temerity to dispute with the angel about the body of Moses.
And in the same manner, at this day, Satan has the temerity to
dispute about the body of Jesus.
12. In the accounts given of all the different forms in which
Jesus Christ appeared after his passion, there is not the smallest
evidence of his possessing the same natural body. His standing
in the midst, the doors being shut — vanishing out of their sight —
assuming the appearance of a gardener — then of a stranger —
and again, of a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes ; these,
and many such appearances, were as different from the body
which had been nailed to the cross, as any one thing can be from
another.
13. The 'wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life; therefore death and life cannot both be adminis-
tered to one and the same person ; for this would be giving
eternal life to sin. But as it is the mystery of iniquity that
worketh in man, who merits death as his wages, and as sin
rules and reigns in man, before he receives Christ ; so it must
certainly die, in order to his receiving thegift of eternal life.
14. Hence the plain conclusion of the Apostle: As in Adam
all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive : or more properly,
As all in Adam die, so all i?i Christ shall be made alive.
Therefore it is not all, nor any part in old Adam, that is made
B. X. A PHYSICAL RESURRECTION. 569
made alive after death; but as everything in him and of him chap. v.
dies, or in other words, as the old man is put off with his deeds,
so the new man is put on, vjhich after God, is created in EPh. iv.
righteousness, and true holiness. But it is that which comes by '22,'2i'
a fallen, corrupt nature, which dies. The personal identity of
the real intellectual man, is retained entire as may be clearly ''Uke,xxiv.
seen, by the personal identity of Jesus, after his resurrection.
15. The whole error of antichrist, concerning the true Resur-
rection, is founded in a total ignorance of the spiritual world.
Let the soul be quickened to a sense of its immortality, and its
capacity for an intercourse with a world of spirits, and the doc-
trine of a physical resurrection will appear as it really is, the
offspring of darkness and ignorance.
16. Let the man come to himself, and find out what he is, that
he is not a mere lump of flesh and blood, but an immortal being,
that must be seen in his full shape, when the clay that he
animates is crumbled to atoms, and blended with the common
elements of the globe. Let him be convinced of the heinousness
of sin, and the enmity of his fleshly nature to the pure and holy
nature of G-od, and he can be no longer anxious about what be-
comes of that mortal frame which he inhabits.
17. Nor is it the far-fetched arguments and pretended evi-
dences of a future resurrection of old useless bones and rotten
flesh, that can entertain the soul ; but a fellowship and increasing
communion with the Resurrection and eternal life that now
is, and which is sensibly felt and enjoyed by those who are
in it.
18. "But (according to the Apostle) some will say, how are icor.xv.
the dead raised up ? And with what body do they come ? Thou 35"3S-
fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." If
this means the dead body which is put into the grave, then to
effect the resurrection, that dead body must die, or it never can
be quickened into life. How absurd the sentiment.' But Paul
adds, "that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body thai
shall be; but Grod giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and
to every seed his own body."
19. The body of a grain of corn, when put into the earth, has
its own first principle of life in itself; and as the body of the
grain dies, so the seed which is the life of the body, is quickened,
and comes forth, and produces a body again, whose seed is in it-
self after its own kind.
20. But this is very far from being the case with a dead corpse,
which, when put into the ground, has not the least principle of
life in itself, by which it can ever be re-animated, or that can
ever be quickened and come forth out of it; but it remains
a lifeless lump of clay, and, like the dead bodies of all other
animals, meets with a total dissolution forever.
37
570
INCONSISTENCY OF
B. X.
CHAP V.
John, v. 29.
Mat. xxii.
31,32.
Seel
Kings, ii.
10, 11,43.
Mat. xxvii,
52, 53.
Luke, viii.
52, 53.
John, xi.
11.
21. Therefore, when the Apostle says, "It is sown a natural
body, it is raised a spiritual body," he has no allusion to the
matter of a dead corpse when it is put into the earth ; but to the
human soul in its natural state, which, through the operation of
God, becomes dead with Christ, from the rudiments of an earthly
nature, out of which it ascends, and is raised a spiritual body.
22. Then the soul as the life or seed of both the righteous and
tvicked, have each their own body. Hence the words of Christ :
" They that have done good (shall come forth) unto the resurrec-
tion of life ; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of
damnation." That is, they who continue in the course of good,
or evil, until this work is accomplished.
23. "Who can be so blind and perverse as to imagine that the
millions who have suffered unto death, for the truth's sake, endured
those extreme sufferings in hopes of being restored again, in some
future day, to the same bodies in which they suffered every
imaginable torture?
24. It must be acknowledged by all who pay any respect to
their testimony, that it was a present love of virtue, salvation, and
immortal glory, and their faith in a future increase of the same,
that animated them to face the most frightful flames and bodily
tortures.
25. The blinded Jews denied the Resurrection, not knowing
the Scriptures nor the power of God. They supposed their
fathers were dead ; and would never rise until the last day. But
Jesus knew better, hence he testified that the Fathers were alive,
inasmuch as the Lord was their God, and that he was not the
God of the dead, but of the living ; and his Apostles, after they
had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, knew better, because
their conversation was in heaven, where they were; and they
knew, according to the Scriptures, that they had slept, but had
not been dead.
26. Hence they testified, that the graves [the states of the
departed] were opened; and many bodies of the saints which
slept arose, and went into the holy city, [not bloody Jerusalem,]
and appeared unto many. They appeared unto such as had eyes
to see them.
27. Upon the same principle Jesus testified, The maid is not
dead, but sleepeth; but they laughed him to scorn, knowing that
she was dead. That is, knowing, in their own carnal imagination,
that he was a liar and a deceiver.
28. In like manner Jesus knew that Lazarus had fallen asleep,
and it was merely in condescension to their dark understanding,
that he said plainly, Lazarus is dead ; and he could as well have
called him forth without his tabernacle as with, had they been
possessed with eyes to see him, as the disciples saw Moses and
Elias talking with Jesus on the mount.
B. X. A PHYSICAL RESURRECTION. 571
29. From all which it is evident, that it is the separate chap. v.
state of the wicked only, which is, or ever was counted a state
of death, and that of the righteous a state of sleep ; and accord-
ing to the distinction in their state of separation, so is their
Resurrection.
30. The rising of those who sleep in Christ, being first in
order, is called the first Resurrection. And the quickening John, v. 29.
or bringing forth of the wicked into the state for which they
have prepared themselves, by their works, although sometimes
called a Resurrection, is more properly denominated, the second
death.
31. Then as it is by the power of Christ Jesus, that the dead Rev xii
are raised, and as he was baptized for the dead, with the power ]2> is.
of the Holy Spirit, both in his first and second appearing, and vs.™'*
therefore quickeneth whom he will, it is beyond all controversy
that the dead are raised, and do come up out of their graves — out Ezekiel,
of all their dwelling places, tuherein they have sinned. -i^iS.
32. And as Christ, who is the Resurrection and the life, dwells
in the members of his body, and as he is, so are they in this i John, iv.
world; therefore they ask, and he giveth them life, for them that 17' v' 16"
sin not unto death, even eternal life; and they are raised up in
this last day, and do enter into the holy city, and are seen and
known of many, and serve Grod day and night'in his temple.
33. And while they go forth and worship before God, in the ps. xxix. 2.
beauty of holiness, they look upon the carcases, that is, the ^l^'2'
dead bodies of formal professors, of them that have transgressed, 24." '
and continue to ivorship the beast: for their worm shall not die, ^ark'is'
and their fire is not quenched. For that fire is kindled among
men, that will destroy all these dead and false systems.
572 A PROBATIONARY STATE B. X.
CHAPTER VI.
RATIONAL AND SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES OF THE GOSPEL
BEING PREACHED, AND A PROBATIONARY STATE, IN THE
WORLD OP SPIRITS.
SECTION I.
chap. vi. It is evidently the nature of all principles and elements, in their
operations, first to plant a seed of their own substance, in any
other substance which has a nature capable of receiving it. For
we see that every natural element will extend and operate as far
as it has the power, and will infuse its own nature wherever
there is a vacuum or avenue open where it can enter.
2. And then the combined operations of all the principles
which meet in that seed, and can operate upon it, continue until
the seed springs up ; and it is then still nourished by all the ele-
ments and principles, whether spiritual or temporal, that meet in
the nature of the substance in which it has taken root ; these
operations never cease until the production of the seed comes to
maturity. And unless those operations are hindered or impeded
by superior power, no seed, when once properly planted, can be
hindered from bringing its appropriate fruit to maturity.
3. Therefore, until the fruit of any seed gets ripe, that is,
comes to full maturity, so that it becomes a seed in itself, of the
same nature as the original, it is not possible to put such fruit to
its proper use ; for, if it is gathered in an unripe state from the
plant that produced it, it is either entirely lost, or at least of
small value, to what it might have been. Hence nothing that
exists can be placed in its proper order, until it comes to matu-
rity ; nor be gathered and put to its proper use. This is indis-
putably the case with all seeds planted in the natures of this
world, and thus by " the things that are made we understand the
invisible order," as says St. Paul.
4. Man is evidently a seed planted first in this world, with
properties of all elements and principles in the creation, other-
wise he could not be endowed with principles to be the superior
and lord of the natural world; nor could he have in him a
rational intelligence that never can be satisfied with anything
that this world can give, as every rational being witnesses is the
case.
5. Man must, therefore, be operated upon by all the principles
and elements that meet in the world, until he comes first into
conscious existence, as a being in the natural world ; and then
B. X. IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS. 573
lie is evidently but a living seed of a being to be developed in the chap. vr.
spiritual world ; for all his movements and the higher senses of
his nature, show that the superior powers of his mind just be<*in
to bud and expand in time.
6. Hence says St. Paul, "he (or It, meaning the rational
spirit of man) is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body." "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural; and afterwards that which is spiritual." \i%.xv'
This, however, only relates to the creation of man, and not to
original principles. "God is Spirit," and He is anterior to all
his beings.
7. But man is a being composed of natural and spiritual ele-
ments and principles, yet he comes forth first in an organized
body, in the natural world ; but, unless his most noble faculties
and powers are to perish and be annihilated, his spiritual ele-
ments must be raised into a superior state; that is, they must be
organized into a spiritual body, in the spiritual world ; when
they have done with the natural body, for " There is a natural icor.xv.
body, and there is a spiritual body." 44'
8. To suppose that the rational spirit or soul of man has no
sensible existence after the dissolution of the physical body, is
supposing that the dissolution of an inferior, annihilates a supe-
rior ; for if .a sensible power is so disorganized that it never has
any more sense or knowledge, it must annihilate it ; while the
material body which only acted as its instrument, is not annihi-
lated, but still exists in his own elements. But, if it be said that
the sensible life in like manner returns to its original elements,
this is all that is contended for. But it being now a systematic
organized sense, it must still remain so, and rise into a higher
order, or fall into a lower state ; because it is now spirit, that is
real life, and hence must be active, and, of course, growing
forever, in good or evil; for if action ceases, life must cease.
9. Therefore we see that man, in his natural state, can be no
more than the seed of a future and far more important state and
life. Hence all the principles and elements that meet in him,
and that can operate upon him, must necessarily have all the
operation that his nature and sphere will admit of, before he can
come to maturity, and be finally ripe for the harvest. This,
therefore, must all take place, in the order of times and seasons,
before he can reach his destiny, and be put to his final use, and
come into his final order and place, according to his creation.
10. This seems to be clearly shown by our Saviour's parable of
the tares, " The sower soweth the seed in the field, or world ; the
tares are the children of the wicked one." These children must
be produced by the seeds or principles of the wicked one, sown in
the nature of man, for they were " sown while men slept." And
he says, " Let both grow together until the harvest; then I will
574
A PROBATIONARY STATE
B. X.
CHAP. VI.
Ar;lt. xiii.
25. 30.
Rev. xiv.
11-16.
ICor.x. 11.
Eph. 11. 12.
Rom. viii.
24.
Mat. xxiv.
14.
say to the reapers, gather the tares and bind them in bundles to
be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn." &c.
1.1. Therefore, as be declares that " The harvest is the end
of the world," and that all the seeds sown, whether good or
bad, must come to maturity before they can be gathered ; we see
that the final destiny of no soul can be settled until the harvest,
which cannot be until "the end of the world" comes to them,
and this does not come to any soul so long as they are in a
natural state, whether they are in the body or out of it, makes
no difference in this respect.
12. And this end cannot come until the true gospel is preached
and the Spirit of Christ is thereby made manifest to the soul, for
this is the " sharp sickle by which the earth is to be reaped."
Eternal principles never till then begin their proper work, for
Jesus Christ was the first man that ever received them, and was
created in the eternal order by them, therefore he styles himself
" The beginning of the creation of God," and this Spirit is the
only power that ever can or ever did offer this final work to any
being.
13. Hence it is that there never was the least intimation that
"the ends of the world had come" upon any, until Christ
appeared, and the Gospel of eternal life was preached, and his
Spirit was thereby offered to man; then the Apostle shows that
on such the ends of the world had come. " These things were
written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world
are come." This could have no allusion to the ends of this ter-
restrial world, for that since that time has lasted near 1,800 years.
14. The same Apostle declares, that, before the Gospel was
preached to the Gentiles, they were " without God, and without
hope in the world." It follows then, conclusively, that until
the Gospel is preached unto natural man, he is without God,
that is, without the knowledge of the true God, and without the
hope of salvation in that state. Of course, if he can be saved
without the preaching of the Gospel of Christ to him, he can be
saved without God, and without hope : this is too absurd for any
reasonable being to believe ; "for we are saved by hope."
15. For this reason, Christ commanded, "Go ye into all the
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." Thus, then,
we see that, if Christ's positive command and commission to
his followers is to be obeyed, his Gospel must not only be
preached to every rational being in all the world, but it must
be preached by his followers, and also, that " the end can-
not come" to any soul until this is fulfilled: for he says, "This
Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a
witness unto all nations; then shall the end come."
16. Therefore, as it is a well known fact, that far the greatest
part of the human race have died and do die without ever hear-
B. X. IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS. 575
ing the name of Christ, much less the preaching of the true chap, vi
Gospel ; it indisputably follows, that it must be preached to
them after death ; for all such souls are still in the spirit of the
world which is its very substance, as much as the soul is the
substance or life of the body, so that they are still natural and
in the world.
17. Now, to suppose that the small, glimmering light which
may be, in this life, in the mind of the heathen, is the preaching
of the Gospel alluded to, is a gross inconsistency ; for, in the
first place, it contradicts the above Scripture, that until the
Gospel was preached unto the Gentiles, "they were dead in
trespasses and sins, without God, and without hope in the
world." And secondly, if the Gospel can be preached by the
glimmerings of moral light in the natural man, it could just as
well have then been preached to them by it, especially as Christ
had finished his mission on earth a number of years before the
Gospel was preached to them ; there would not then, or ever
afterwards, have been any need of its being preached by his
followers.
18. And in the third place, it still more manifestly disannuls
and renders void the command and mission of our Saviour, given
expressly to his followers, to preach the Gospel to every creature
in all the world. No account here of any other preaching.
Again, if in a natural state they are without God, as the
Apostle declares, who is there, or what is there, with them, that
can preach the Gospel to them ; surely if any such Gospel is Rom. i. i.
thus preached, it cannot be "the Gospel of God."
19. Jesus Christ himself first set the example, as well as gave
the precept, of preaching the Gospel to souls in the world of
Spirits, as proved by the Scriptures. Thus St. Peter says, " For
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spa-it, by which also he went and preached
to the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when
once the long suffering of God waited, in the days of Noah, l Pet. iii.
while the ark was preparing," &c.
20. One might suppose that this had decided the matter with
all who believe the Scriptures ; but such is the darkness in the
world, and they have it so firmly fixed in their minds, that natural
death decides the fate of the soul, that they seem unwilling to
believe the plainest proofs of Scripture, and plainest dictates of
reason to the contrary ; but try to " wrest " them, to support their
dark ideas. Hence they will say that Christ had preached to 2 Pet. iii.
those spirits through Noah before the flood.
21. But the words of the Apostle by this construction, would
be rendered without consistent meaning ; for these show, if words
can do it, that it was not any thing that had formerly taken
]6.
576 A PROBATIONARY STATE B. X.
chap, vi. place anterior to his sufferings and death. "For Jesus Christ
also hath once suffered, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the spirit, by which he went and preached to the
1 Pet. iii. spirits in prison, &c." He assumes his sufferings, and being put
to death in the flesh, &c, as the antecedent, and after this he
was quickened in the spirit, by which he went (not had been) and
preached, to the spirits in prison.
22. But surely, had he meant to show that Jesus Christ had
preached to them through Noah, to have used consistent language,
he must have said, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
in the spirit, by which he had been and preached to the inhabitants
of the world, &c. But, in that case, what reason would there have
been in saying, "to the spirits in prison," for they were no more
spirits in prison in the days of Noah, than all other natural men
are, but they were "men in the flesh; " nor were they any more
in prison than are all others.
23. But, in another place, the same Apostle gives the reason
plainly, why the Gospel was preached to these spirits. Thus,
iPet. iv. 6. "For this cause was the Gospel preached to them that are dead,
(or rather according to the original, " to the dead") that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live accord-
ing to God in the spirit." Some may argue that it meant the
dead in trespasses and sins, but all the children of men in this
sense, according to Scripture, are thus dead.
24. And further, had this been his meaning, there would have
been no contrast set forth, in the case, between the living and the
dead, or between "men in the flesh," and spirits in prison. But
there is in the whole context, a plain contrast meant to be set
forth: "Who shall judge the quick and the dead, for this cause
was the Gospel preached to the dead, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the
spirit."
25. Now, common sense teaches, that had they been men in
the flesh, they could not have been judged according to men in
the flesh, for they would have been really men in the flesh, and
must have been judged as such, and not according to them; for
it is an absurdity of language to say, that any thing is according
to such a thing, when it is the thing itself; so that such a sup-
posed interpretation would destroy itself.
26. The Apostle's evident meaning was, to show his brethren
the universal mission and charity of Christ ; that it was not
wholly confined to those in the flesh, (which in this case is put
for the body in an earthly state, as contrasted with a spiritual
state of existence,) but that it extended to those out of the body,
in the world of spirits. And therefore, he declared that the same
Gospel was preached to them, that they might be judged by the
same judgment, and have a privilege to live unto God, in the one
B. X. IN THE "WORLD OP SPIRITS. 577
same Spirit, (that is, the Spirit of Christ, which only can teach CHAp- VL
the true God,) in the same manner as those in the flesh.
27. Thus the work of Christ was shown to be impartially ex-
tended to those in the body, and those out of it ; not excepting
those who had been bound in prisons of darkness, for their dis-
obedience to the light of God in former dispensations, as well as
the unrighteous or sinners in this world, whom Christ expressly
declares that he came to call.
28. Therefore Christ Jesus, whilst he was in "the heart of
the earth, three days and three nights," before his resurrection,
began this benevolent work of mercy, by preaching to the souls
of those who were disobedient before the flood ; because, although
they had, by their disobedience to the preaching of Noah and other
messengers of God, lost the light of God, according to their day,
and were bound in prisons of darkness ; yet they could not sin
against the light of the Gospel, because it had never been offered
10 them.
29. Hence they were entitled to have it preached, and freely
offered to them, as much as the disobedient in this world ; other-
wise the ways of God could not be rendered just ; for we can-
not suppose that the light of Noah, was greater than the light of
the Law; nor that their disobedience was greater than that of
the rebellious Jews, to whom Christ freely offered salvation.
For, according to the express words of Jesus Christ, "If the
mighty works that were done among them, had been done in Mat.xi.20-
Sodom, it would have remained to that day."
30. Surely then, they must be entitled, by the justice and
mercy of God, to a free offer of the same: for, according to this
testimony, it is evident that they would have been more likely to
have made a good use of it, than the Jews ; and we have no
evidence that those before the flood were worse than they. There-
fore, all who have not had a free offer of the Gospel, in this world,
must, consistent with the justice and benevolence of God, have
it in the world of spirits, "that they might be judged according
to men in the flesh, (and be enabled) to live unto God in the
spirit." That is, be judged by the same principles, and find
justification, or final loss, in the same manner.
31. It may be proper here to remark, that Jesus Christ, said,
"As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the Mat. xiuo.
whale, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth." Now this could not allude to his human
body, for no one can say that this was ever in "the heart" of
the literal earth ; nor if we admit, that being in the tomb was
synonymous, (which is not the case,) would it alter the matter,
for it was not there more than about thirty-six hours before it
was taken away.
32. But reckoning the time from the evening when "he
578
A PROBATIONARY STATE
B. X.
21
chap, vi. began to be exceeding sorrowful, and said, my soul is exceeding
John, xx. sorrowful, even unto death," until the evening when he appeared
in the midst of his disciples, "the doors being shut," and said,
" Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, even so send I
you." We find it precisely three days and three nights. Where
was he all this time ? We answer, where his Father had sent
him, viz: preaching and administering the Gospel to the souls, or
spirits, in prison.
33. Thus his soul and spirit descended into the center of
human nature, that is, in the depth of the loss of earthly man,
which is the heart of human nature or living earth, whence is the
spring of all his actions; no other heart, and no other earth, was
concerned in this work. Here he opened the way of salvation,
and, "having loosed the bands of death, because it was not pos-
sible that he should be holden of it."
34. Therefore he then rose triumphant and ascended to his
Father; and then he came and bequeathed his final legacy of
peace to his disciples; and sent them to follow up and finish
that work of mercy and judgment which his Father had sent him
to commence, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel
to every creature ; he that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved, but he that believeth not, shall be damned." It follows
then, beyond reasonable dispute, that, until the Gospel of Christ
is preached to every creature in all the world, and such souls
have a free oifer to be baptized with his Spirit, in which is the
only power of salvation, neither final salvation, nor damnation,
can ensue.
Acls, ii. 24.
Mark, xvi
15, 16.
SECTION II.
THE SUBJECT FURTHER ILLUSTRATED.
Ezek.xviii.
25.
35. As a further illustration of this subject, we may remark,
that it is impossible to vindicate the justice of (rod, unless the
same Gospel is preached, and freely offered to all souls, whether
in the body or out of it ; because, if a part of natural men can be
saved, without the requirements of the Gospel, and a part must
come to those requirements, which are so crossing to the propen-
sities of nature, or be damned ; the ways of God cannot be equal,
and therefore cannot be just. But God says, "Are not my ways
equal? are not your ways unequal? "
36. But the doctrine that excludes this benevolent display of
God's grace and mercy from being extended equally to all,
makes the way of God, unequal; yet the inequality never came
from God, but is the unequal way of man, which God reproves.
37. For if all must come to the requirements of the Gospel or
be damned, as is evident from the Scriptures, and it is equally
B. X. IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS. 579
evident that far the greatest part of mankind never so much as CHAP- VI-
heard the name of Christ in this world much less have had an
opportunity to obey the real Gospel, the only u power of God
unto salvation;" then, of course, if they do not have an oppor- Rom. i. ic.
tunity in the world of spirits, far the greatest part of men, must
be damned forever, for not obeying the Gospel which they never
heard, and never had an opportunity to obey : this would be in-
finitely unjust.
38. But, if we consider that the soul, or spirit contains the
only principle in man capable of immortality ; and is therefore,
the only final object of the Gospel, that this will, in God's time,
be freely offered to all, and that it makes no difference in this
respect, whether in the body, or in the world of spirits; also,
that the soul, when offered the Gospel, will have its own free
choice, to accept or reject it, and will have its reward accord-
ingly ; we then see that all the ways and works of God are
equal, consistent, and just ; and in this view of the subject, we
can join the heavenly choir in their joyful and sublime aspira-
tions of praise: "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord R,v- xv- 3-
God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints."
But this aspiration of praise could never be justly given, without
the aforesaid gracious work of Christ to poor benighted souls in
the world of spirits.
89. Nevertheless, it is highly necessary, to prevent delusive
hopes, to consider that the Gospel day of each soul is brought
about by the providence of God, as much as the day of natural
life ; and that if they do not do the appropriate work of that day,
while it lasts, they can have no promise of another Gospel day,
any more than another day of natural life. Just as Jesus Christ
says, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while the
day lasts, the night cometh when no man can work."
40. Therefore, in like manner, every soul will have his day to
work the works of God., and he must work when his spiritual
day comes; that is when the work of righteous judgment comes,
which brings on him " the ends of the world ; " which always
comes when the Gospel is offered to his understanding and
capacity; for wherever Christ is manifested, there is the judg-
ment of this world, as far as it extends. This was declared by T ,
Him m his first appearing : " JNowis the judgment of this world; 31.
now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
41. This is the very nature of the Gospel, — to judge, condemn,
and cast out the prince of this world, and his works from every
soul ; this work began in Christ's first appearing, but must be
completed in his second appearing. When, therefore, this day
comes to any soul, then he must work the zoorks of God, while
it is day, or his day will end, and the night will come, when he
cannot work. But as sure as God is just, so certainly as any \l\° '
580 A PROBATIONARY STATE B. X.
chap, vi. sotli nas a jjay 0f existence, they will as certainly have a day
Phil. ii. 12. " to work out their salvation, being workers together with God,"
&acor.vi. aQ(j if they thus work with God, in his own way and time, they
will as certainly obtain the prize.
42. Sixth. Notwithstanding the idea, that the final state of the
soul is fixed at death, so extensively prevails, and is so firmly
riveted in the minds of the professors of Christianity, yet there
is not one word in the Scriptures that even implies it, which is
not susceptible of a much more reasonable interpretation.
While, on the other hand, there are many texts, some of which
have been quoted, that will admit of no reasonable interpretation
on any other ground than that the Grospel must be preached in
the world of spirits, and be freely offered to souls there, who
have not had it in this world.
43. This doctrine was well understood in the primitive Church,
as proved by authentic records — witness the writings of Hermes
&c. ; and the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory was evi-
dently founded on the support that the Scriptures, and other well
known records of the primitive Church, gave to this doctrine.
For they never could have established it in the minds of the
people, so as to cause them to pay large sums of money for the
pardon of souls out of the body, if the Scriptures had not
pointed clearly to the Gospel being preached, and to repentance,
pardon, and forgiveness, after death.
44. But though they basely corrupted this doctrine, yet the
corruption of a good principle does not destroy the virtue or
truth of the principle itself, for if there was not some good in
the principle, and a foundation for it, there would be no cause
nor motive to corrupt, or counterfeit it. Hence the corruption
of this principle furnishes strong proofs of its original truth, as
much as counterfeit money proves that there is true money, for
if there was no true, there would be no counterfeit.
45. Seventh. To prove that the final state of the soul is fixed
at death, the words of Solomon are erroneously quoted, "As
the tree falls, so it lies." This is not Scripture. True, Solo-
mon, in exhorting to industrious and prudent labor and conduct,
advises them to do all that they could in this world for their
honor, so as to leave behind them a good name ; for they could
not alter it after death. "A good name is better than precious
Ecc. xi.3. ointment." He therefore brings this similitude, " If the tree
fall towards the north, or towards the south, in the place where
the tree falls there it shall be." So likewise, in what state or
direction their character was when they fell in death, there it
would be.
46. But will any suppose that he alluded to the soul or spirit ?
Can they believe the soul is confined to the same place forever?
But they may say it means the same state, but this would
B. X. IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS. 581
exclude all increase of either happiness or misery ; a supposition chap, vi.
that we think few would advocate.
47. As to the text, "For there is no work, nor device, nor Ecc.ix.io.
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest;" if
this proves anything to the purpose, it proves too much ; for
if it proves that the state of the soul is irreversibly fixed at
death, it proves, also, that it can do no work, has no device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom. Of course, upon this principle it
becomes unconscious and inactive ; that is, it must forever die
with the body, or even more, it must be annihilated. For the
conscious existence of spirit cannot die, unless it is annihilated.
48. But the plain meaning of Solomon was, to show mankind
that, as their natural and moral work would end on earth at
death, and therefore, what was done would remain done, and
what was undone would not be done, so their character would
stand, and so must be the remembrance of it, whether good or
bad, both by themselves and others. This, then, was a great
incentive to do good and honorable works ; because, though he
said nothing of their future state being decided thereby, yet he
showed them that the honor or dishonor of their works, must
always follow them.
49. He was evidently appealing to that innate and sensitive
principle in man, which causes him to be so solicitous to perpet-
uate his honor and fame, and which is one of the most powerful
principles in the human breast ; yea, for this, man will brave all
dangers, in their most frightful forms, and many times rush to
certain death ; we know of no principle originally inherent in
man, that will carry him so far as this.
50. This stimulates the statesman; this urges on the warrior;
this incites all in their respective spheres and circles ; it is
a strong incentive to virtue in man, but not so strong as innate
conscience. That this was his object is evident from the whole
tenor of the previous part of the chapter; for it declares " that
there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked ; as is the
good so is the sinner." Certainly this cannot mean anything
beyond the casual events of time, and natural death.
51. And again: "For to him that is joined to all the living
there is hope ; for a living dog is better than a dead lion ; for
the living know that they shall die ; but the dead know not any-
thing; neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of Ecc. x. 3,
them is forgotten." Can this allude to the soul ? If so, it proves 4'5-
that there is no future state, where they have either knowledge
or reward, or any one to remember them. But he positively
teaches the contrary of this, where he declares, " Then shall the
dust return to the earth, as it was, and the spirit unto God who
gave it, for God shall bring every work into judgment, with Ecc. xii.7
every secret thing, whether it be good or evil."
582
A PROBATIONARY STATE B. X.
CHAP- vr' 52. Thus, nothing can be found in all his writings, adverse to
the Gospel being preached in a future state. This remained for
" a greater than Solomon " to decide. As to the often quoted
text, "As death leaves us, so judgment will find us," it is home-
made Scripture, for it is not in the Bible, nor any thing tanta-
mount to it ; nor in the least like it. The nearest approximation
to it is, "And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after
this the judgment ; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
Heb.ix.27, many; and unto them that look for him, shall he appear the
2a second time without sin unto salvation."
53. From this we learn that his second appearance would be
an increasing work, and all souls must, in justice, be entitled to
have an offer of it. Undoubtedly, after the soul has left the
body it will finally meet with a more decisive judgment than it
can in this life ; because its eternal lot must there be fixed, yet
how long after death, we know not; but it is evident that it
never could be until the second appearing of Christ, as shown to
the Prophet.
_ 54. For, after the Prophet Daniel was informed of " the
times," and the latest period for the establishment of the work
of the latter day was announced, under the similitude of days
Dan.xii.i4. the angel said, " But go thou thy way (Daniel) till the end be;
for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot, at the end of the
days." Surely, then, he must be made partaker of the work
of both Christ's first and second appearing, before he could
enter into his jest and final lot ; and it must be the same with
all other souls.
55. Eighth. And that the eternal state of no soul can be
finally decided until he has heard and accepted the Gospel,
and travelled to his final order, or rejected it, and fallen into the
element of final enmity; is evident from all the doctrines of
Rom.x. Christ and his Apostles. St. Paul says, "How shall they
14-17. believe in him of whom they have never heard ? and how shall
they hear, without a preacher ? and how shall they preach except
they be sent ? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God."
56. It follows, then, that none can ever believe to the savins
or damning of the soul, until they hear the word of God, by a
preacher sent with the true Gospel of Christ. Then they will
receive faith, and that faith according to that word, will be their
final judge. Then will be fulfilled the words of Jesus Christ,
"Whosoever receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me; and
John, xii. he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." "And if
47'48, any man hear my words, and believe not, he hath one that
judgeth him ; the word that I speak, that shall judge him in the
last day.
57. Hence it conclusively follows, that all souls must hear
B. X.
IN THE WORLD OP SPIRITS.
583
this word, and be judged by it, either in this world or that to
come. But the words of Christ declare that the final state of all
souls shall be decided in the day of judgment, wheu the wicked
shall "go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous
into life eternal."
58. This day, professors who hold that all is decided at death,
say, has not yet come ; and it is clearly declared to be the work
of Christ's second appearing, and it must be the finishing work
of that day. But it began at the commencement, for it is not
the day of man, but the clay of the Lord ; and Christ declares
the work of this day to be, "that he will send his angels,
(ministers) and gather out of his kingdom all things that
offend and them that work iniquity." "And gather his elect
from the four winds; from one end of heaven to the other."
This comprehends the whole, both the spiritual and the tempo-
ral world.
59. Therefore, until this work is effected, which is the same
as the preaching of the " Gospel in all the world, for a witness
unto all nations," the final judgment cannot be finished; but
when this is effected, all souls must have had a fair offer,
to accept or reject the Gospel. "Then cometh the end," when
the final judgment will be given ; then the mediatorial work of
Christ will cease, as says St. Paul. " Then shall the Son give
up the kingdom to the Father, that God may be all and in all,"
every enemy being destroyed out of it. Then the har-
vest "WILL BE ENDED, AND THE PINAL SEPARATION BE-
TWEEN THE GOOD AND BAD WILL BE MADE. " THEN SHALL
THE RIGHTEOUS SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN IN THE KING-
DOM of their Father."
CHAP. VI.
Mat.
4G-
Mat. xxi.
31.
Mark, xiii.
1 Cor. xv.
24,25.
Mat. xiii.
41,43.
584 , THE WORSHIP OP GOD. B. X.
CHAPTER VII.
THE WORSHIP OP GOD.
John.
xiv.
15
Luke
i vi.
46.
Mat. :
xv.2.
John.
iv.
22,23
Mat.
iv.10.
chap. Whatever may be called the worship of G-od, it is certain that
' no external exercise therein can be any thing more than an outward
expression of an inward spiritual sensation of love and obedience
to God, arising from a knowledge and understanding of his will.
And, as nothing is more expressive of love and respect to God
than obedience, therefore the most perfect and acceptable worship
is performed by those who keep the commandments of God.
2. Hence the words of Jesus Christ, "If ye love me, keep my
commandments. Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the
things which I say ? In vain do they worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men. Ye worship ye know not
what. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worship-
pers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth: for the
• Father seeketh such to worship him. Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God,, and him only shalt thou serve.''''
3. As man is an active, intelligent being, formed for social
communion; so in every age, there have always been certain
external forms of Divine worship, which, in different dispensa-
tions, have been various, according to the manifestations of the
will of God in each, and the various operations of his Spirit, for
the time then present.
4. The manner of worship in the first appearing of Christ, was
not reduced to any form, but according as true believers were
moved by the Spirit, in various circumstances. They worshipped
God in prayer, vocal or silent, in praise, in thanksgiving, in ex-
hortations, and in feasts of charity, by which they expressed their
iOr.xii.4. love and union to each other. And, as there were diversities of
operations, we have good reason to believe that dancing was one
of them.
5. This various manner of worship continued mostly, with all
the true witnesses, until near the time of Christ's second appear-
inc, when many, like the guards of the night, sat in solemn
silence, waiting for the break of day, denying their own wisdom
and judgment, and performing no act of worship but such as they
were moved to by the inward light and evidence of the quicken-
ing Spirit.
6. Being thus wholly cut off from the fruitless inventions and
precepts of men, and wholly dependent on the Author and
Fountain of life, they devoted themselves to do his will in all
things wherein it might be made manifest. Hence the light, and
B. X.
THE WORSHIP OF GOD.
585
truth, and revelation of God increased among them, until by the
special operation of his power, they were moved to go forth and
worship God in the dance ; which had been expressly signified
by the Law and the Prophets, as the peculiar manner of worship
to be established in the latter day.
7. And, as the work of full redemption, and the worship of
God attending it, were to be introduced in the line of the
female ; therefore it is particularly worthy of notice, that through
the order of the female, both the example and promise were
given, through ail the Law and the Prophets, which may
evidently appear from what follows :
8. The deliverance of the children of Israel from under Pha-
raoh, and their escape through the Red sea, was a plain and
striking figure of the day of full redemption from the bondage
and dominion of sin, as may appear from the song of Moses and
the children of Israel. And therefore it was that Miriam the
Prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand;
and all the women went out after her, with timbrels, and with
dances.
9. The same manner of worship was also continued, on all the
most triumphant occasions, among the Israelites, after they were
established in the promised land, and commonly practised on
obtaining victory over their enemies, and was expressive of their
joy and thankfulness for the extraordinary power and presence
of God.
10. The first abode of the ark of God was in Shiloh, and it
was there, at the yearly feasts of the Lord, that the virgins or
daughters of Shiloh, went forth to dance in dances. This, all
the time that the house of God was in Shiloh, was an abiding
figure of the true worship in Christ, at the bringing in the Ark
of the Covenant of God in the latter day.
11. " Shiloh," in Hebrew, is of the same import as Messiah,
or Anointed. Hence the daughters of Shiloh prefigured the vir-
gin followers of the Anointed that stand with the Lamb on
Mount Zion; as was made known by the parable of the prodi-
gal son, where was music and dancing.
12. Also when David returned, after the victory over Goliah
the Philistine, (a type of antichrist,) the women came out of all
the cities of Israel, singing and dancing.
13. Again, The final establishment of the Ark of God and
his Testament, was prefigured when the typical ark was removed
from Shiloh to the city of David, being accompanied with the
same solemn exercise. And David and all Israel played,
[that is, danced] before God with all their might, and with
CHAP.
VII.
sin sing.
14. But when Michal, the proud daughter of Saul, saw David
leaping and dancing before the lord, she despised him in her
38
Compare
Ex. xv. 1-
W. Willi
Rev. xv. 2,
3.
See Ne-
vhrs Bib.
Ant. 163,
194.
Rev. xiv. 4.
I Samuel,
xvui. 0.
1 Chron.
xiii. 8.
2 Sam. vi.
U-'23
58G
THE WORSHIP OF GOD.
B. X.
chap, heart, and scornfully reproached him for dishonoring his dignity
' as a king, by shamelessly uncovering himself (as she said) in the
eyes of the handmaids of his servants ; and counted him and all
the rest as vain fellows.
15. But David said to Michal, " It was before the Lord, who
chose me before thy father, to appoint me ruler over Israel :
therefore I ivill -play before the Lord. And I will yet be more
vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight : and of the
maid-servants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had
in honor.''''
16. Therefore, as a punishment, for despising that which God
accepted, Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day
of her death. This, according to the figurative order of that
day, was counted a great disgrace, because it prefigured barren-
ness of soul, in the true worship of God.
17. It is therefore evident that it was a peculiar kind of wor-
ship, practiced among the children of Israel, on the most joyful
and important occasions, during their prosperity : and that it was
acceptable unto God, and was the highest expression of joy and
gratitude that could possibly be used on those occasions ; and
served as a figure of the joy and triumph of the saints in the
latter day.
18. But, in the time of their captivity at Babylon, this sacred
exercise was entirely lost from the people of God, and like the
vessels of the sanctuary, profaned by the wicked in the service
of the devil. And hence the lamentation of the Prophet Jere-
Lam. v. 15. miah, The joy of our heart is ceased, our dance is turned into
mourning.
19. And although the wicked nnjustly took and used this
manner of worship in their idolatrous feasts, yet there was a
promise of restoring it to the people of God in the latter day ;
hence a plain figure of this restoration, was the bringing back to
Jerusalem, and cleansing again, those vessels and ornaments of
the temple, which had been so impiously abused in their feasts
at Babylon.
20. The promise that this mode of worship should be restored
to the people of God in the latter day, evidently appears from
the most express and pointed prophecies, given in the time of
the captivity. Thus, the Lord by the Prophet Jeremiah, ' Be-
hold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have
mercy on his dwelling places: And out of them shall proceed
thanksgiving, and the voice of them that make merry: hi the
latter days ye shall consider it."
21. " Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, 0
virgin of Israel; and thou shalt go forth in the dances of them
that make merry: Therefore they shall come and sing in the
height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the
See Psalm,
exxxvii.
Dan. v. 23.
Ezra, i. 7.
Jer. xxx.
18-24.
xxxi. 4-14.
B. X.
THE WORSHIP OP GOD.
587
CHAP.
VII.
Lord : Tke?i shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young
men and old together : for I will turn their mourning into
joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their
sorrow.
22. It may be said that this alludes to the return of the Jews
from captivity ; but whatever might have then taken place, it
could have been no more than a figure, for the Jews were
far from filling the character of the "virgin;" the sub-
stance remained to be fulfilled in the virgin Church of the latter
day'o
23. The same, in substance, was also promised through the Hosea
Prophet Hosea, speaking of the valley of Achor, (which alludes *5-
to the confession and mortification of sin,) it is expressly said,
She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in
the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. This
alludes to the deliverance of Israel on the banks of the Ked
sea.
24. Thus it is evident, that the promise of God for the resto-
ration of this solemn exercise, was given in the line of the
female, to virgins, or such as were pure and undefiled before
God; and it was to such only that this worship was to be
restored in the latter day.
25. But as these things could not be but in part fulfilled in
Christ's first appearing, therefore he renewed the promises, which
were made through the Prophets, saying, " All things must be t
fulfilled which xoere written in the law of Moses, and in the 44.
Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me ; " which, in this
particular, was more expressly alluded to in his parable of the
younger son, who returned to his father's house, and being stript
of his old garments, and clothed with the best robe, and there
was music and dancing.
26. But the elder son was offended, and would not go in;
which was particularly expressive of the effect of this manner
of worship, in making a separation between the old leaven of
malice in a hypocritical profession, and the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
27. Therefore, those who found their belief on the Bible, may
know that there are nineteen passages recorded in Scripture,
which speak of dancing as the worship of God, and not one
passage in the whole which speaks against it as sacred devotion,
Hence, all opposition to it, as devotion to God, is entirely
unfounded in Scripture. It is evident that the faculty of
dancing was created of God, to be used for his honor ; hence,
although the wicked have abused it in the service of the devil,
they have abused singing to afar greater extent, and for much
baser purposes.
28. For there is not a single corrupt propensity, which has
Luke, xsiv.
Luke, xv.
25.
588 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. B. X.
chap. not teen excited and fostered by singing; yet it has been
' adopted by nearly all professors of religion, as sacred worship.
But singing, either vocal or instrumental, is the very life of
dancing. Without it dancing would be like a body without a
soul. Therefore, to condemn dancing, and justify singing, is,
at least, like condemning the body for actions and justifying the
soul, when the soul is the real actor. Who cannot see the incon-
sistency ?
29. It is not merely the external performance of the present
worship of God, by which any are justified ; but the same being
given by the special gift and revelation of God, according to
promise, it is therefore an outward manifestation of the Holy
Spirit, which is effectual, in the hearts of the faithful, to the
destruction of the nature of sin. And, as unity and harmony of
exercise is emblematical of the one spirit by which the people
of God are led, this unity and harmony of worship is beautiful
and glorious.
30. And thus, by uniting together in one faith, to worship God
in diversities of gifts and operations, according to his own
appointment and effusions of the Spirit, believers are baptized
into one Spirit, and grow up together in Christ as the members
of one body. This manner of worship to the people of God,
is not empty, nor carnal ; but mighty through God, joyful as
heaven, and solemn as eternity.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
Those books which have been collected into one, under the titlo
of Holy Scriptures, are so called from their being written by
holy men, who were moved by the Holy Spirit. And, as far as
they have been preserved entire, in their original sense, free from
the errors of translators and transcribers, they are justly deno-
minated " The Scriptures of truth."
2. They contain a true account of the will and purposes of
God, revealed to man in the different ages of the world, and of
the operations of his power, from the beginning of the world,
relative to the salvation of souls, until the real work of redemp-
tion began: and they contain also the true predictions of all the
B. X.
THE HOLT SCRIPTURES.
589
John, v. 39.
Jer. xxxi.
33.
Rom. i. 16.
principal events that were to take place in the earth, until the Cvu?'
work of redemption should be finally accomplished. _
3. But, as the Scriptures are composed of letters, and letters
are no more than signs, marks, or shadows of things, and not the
very substance of the things which they signify ; therefore it is
contrary to the dictates of reason and common sense to suppose
that any of those real things are in the Scriptures, of which they
contain a written account.
4. They contain an account of the Spirit by which the writers
thereof were inspired, but they do not contain that Spirit itself:
They contain a true record of the promise of eternal life ; but
that eternal life is not in the Scriptures, but in the Son of God,
according the record of truth. "Search the Scriptures, (said
Jesus Christ to the Pharisees,) for in them ye think ye have
eternal life; and they are they which testify of me."
5. The Scriptures contain a true account of the law of God,
but Scripture is not that law. "I will put my law in their
imoard parts, and write it in their hearts." They also contain
an account of the Gospel of Christ, but thev are not the Gospel
itself.
6. The beginning of the Gospel is not the beginning of the
Bible, but the beginning of the power of God unto salvation;
for the Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth in the power of God, wherever it is made
manifest by living and chosen witnesses of God, who have it in
possession.
7. The Scriptures also contain a true account of the Word in
different ages, according as it was delivered, at sundry times,
and in divers manners ; but the Scriptures themselves are not
that Word, but a record of the operation of that Word in diffe-
rent ages.
8. So when it is said the Word of God came to Abraham or
Moses, or to any of the Prophets, it was not the Bible that came
to them ; but the Word of God which is quick and poioerful,
sharper than anij tico edged sword, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart : And this cannot be said of
the Scriptures.
9. The word of God is incorruptible, and liveth and abideth
forever; but the Bible is not incorruptible, nor doth it abide-
forever. And if all the Scriptures and books on earth were con-
sumed, the Word of God would still be the same quickening Eph.vi.i7.
sword of the Spirit. Therefore they are greatly deceived, who
imagine that the Scriptures are the Word of God ; there is no
such idea communicated, in any part of the Scriptures, from
beginning to end.
10. The Scripture saith, " Ye shall not surely die;" but this
was not the Word of God, but the word of the serpent. It is
Heb. iv. 12.
1 Pet. i. 23.
590
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
B. X.
chap, written, Make, thee an ark of gopher-wood. This was the word
! of God spoken to Noah, hut it was not the word of God to any
other person under heaven ; and so of many other passages.
11. The Scriptures contain an account of the Word of God in
different ages, and of the sayings of wicked men, and of right-
eous men ; the sayings of true and false Prophets ; of honest
men and hypocrites ; and the testimonies of true and false wit-
nesses; and who can be so blind as to imagine that all this
record of good and evil, can either be the Word of God, or a
rule of faith and practice ?
12. According to the true testimony of the Scriptures, the
Word of God always abode in a man of God, as a quickening
Spirit, by which he was moved to utter or write such things as
God chose to reveal; and what was thus uttered or written,
might be perverted or destroyed, or the man of God might be
put to death ; but the quickening Spirit, the Word which liveth
and abideth forever, could never be altered, perverted nor
destroyed; but would always come forth, and appear again in
others.
13. Thus, from one dispensation to another, the Word of God,
and the contrary principle which rose against it, in man, contin-
ued to increase the Scriptures ; and those writings, which had
been acknowledged before as a record of truth, were used in
confirmation of every present work of God, by such as were in
it, and had the Word of a living testimony.
14. And hence the Scriptures, in their proper use, could never
be given or administered to mankind but by inspiratio?i of
God: neither could they be profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, or instruction in righteousness, but through the
man of God, who had the Word of God living and abiding in
him, by which he was perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works.
15. Hence it was that Christ Jesus expounded unto his dis-
ciples, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. And
the Apostle, as his manner was, reasoned out of the Scriptures,
Acts, xvii. alleging that Christ must needs have suffered ; but it was a very
small part of what Jesus taught, or the Apostles reasoned, that
is recorded ; yet from a misunderstanding of what little was
recorded, some wrested those writings to their own destruction,
as they did the other Scriptures.
16. From all which there appears a manifest distinction between
the Word of God and the Scriptures; and notwithstanding those
who receive the Word of God as their guide, are led according
to the Scriptures ; yet it is not in word only, but in power, such
as the Scriptures never could communicate. It must be granted
by all, that the Spirit which inspired the matter of the sacred
writings, is greater than those writings, and is therefore the
2 Tim. iii.
1G, 17.
Luke,
xjuv. 27
B. X.
THE HOLT SCRIPTURES.
591
CHAP.
VIII.
living and true guide into all truth, which was but in part
written.
17. The command of God to Noah respecting the ark, could
he no rule of conduct to Abraham ; but the Word of God which
came to him, must be his rule, and in obedience to that alone,
could he be justified. Likewise the command of God to Abra-
ham, to offer up a human sacrifice, could be no rule to Moses,
nor to any other person under heaven.
18. This command to Abraham, to offer up his son by fire,
prefigured the offering up of a carnal nature, which produces
natural posterity, and is effected by the fire of the Holy Spirit in
Jesus Christ, and his followers, before they can receive the bless-
ings promised to the true seed, as Abraham did, in the figure.
This was also a practical testimony against human sacrifices,
which were then common among the nations ; but by withholding
the human, and substituting the animal, the will of the Deity
began to be known, and stood as a warning against the former
horrid practice.
19. What was commanded through Moses to the children of
Israel, was commanded to them and no other nation upon earth.
Although they were, and still are, beneficial to many nations,
being the general foundation of all the moral laws in the world.
Besides, a thousand things were commanded to individuals, which
were binding on no other person than those to whom the com-
mand was given ; the command being given only to effect certain
purposes, necessary for the time being.
20. It must argue the most extreme ignorance in any one, to
suppose that what was expressly revealed and enjoined on one
nation or individual, as their duty, was equally binding on all
mankind in every suceeding age and nation.
21. Because Noah was commanded to build an ark, must all Gen. vi.
mankind build arks ? Because the Prophet Isaiah was commanded
to walk naked and barefoot, for a sign unto Egypt and Ethiopia,
were all mankind to follow his example, without regard to heat
or cold, or any special command ? Because the Prophet Ezekiel Ezek.
was commanded to prepare his bread with dung, is this a univer-
sal rule for others ? Or, is every man obliged to take a wife
of whoredoms, because the Prophet Hosea was commanded so
to do?
22. What greater deception could antichrist possibly impose
upon mankind, in order to blind their eyes to the true revelation
of God, than to pretend that "the Scriptures of the Old and
New Testament (as they are called) are the only rule to direct
11s" and under this pretence to reject the testimony of present
living witnesses?
23. God never was beholden to letters, as the only means of
revealing his will; but he that formed the soul of man, can also
Isa. sx. 3.
12.
Hosea, i. 2.
Heb.vi. 18.
592 THE HOLT SCRIPTURES. B. X.
C™/VP- form, in that soul, a conviction of his will. And nothing but
! — the ridiculous doctrine that God actually died, could ever have
given occasion to the blind error of the antichristian world, that
the Bible was his last will and testament, and the priests his
executors and administrators.
24. The oath and covenant of God, (which always stood be-
tween two immutable agents, in which it was impossible for God
to fail of the accomplishment of his purpose,) could furnish a
hope, as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which
entered into that within the vail.
25. But in the reading of the Old Testament, the vail was still
2 Cor. iii. upon the heart ; and although it was rent in the first appearing
14- of Christ, yet that vail remained untaken away ; and therefore,
until the vail was fully removed, in the second appearing of
Christ, the Scriptures could never be fully understood, nor could
the very things themselves, to which the promises alluded, be
fully revealed : nor could even the form of the oath be kept un-
corrupted through the dark reign of antichrist.
26. Certain it is, that the Scriptures have not only been mis-
understood, but have been grossly perverted, and forced out of
their true sense, and abused to the purpose of misrepresenting
the true character and purpose of God, and all his designs and
dispensations to man.
27. In confirmation of this truth, we need but look to the
numerous divided sectaries now upon earth, who, for ages, have
been contending about the sense of the Scriptures, and shedding
each other's blood in defence of their respective opinions. This
is an incontestable evidence, that the Scriptures are not a sufficient
guide without a present inspiration of the true Spirit.
28. By establishing the Scriptures as the word of God, for all
future ages, the most inconsistent ideas have been formed of the
Divine goodness; while the comments and precepts of men have
prevailed, instead of the living Word ; and a total ignorance of
the spiritual world, instead of the knowledge of the true and
quickening Spirit of revelation ; which is particularly manifest in
that horrid and blasphemous doctrine of " eternal and uncondi-
tional decrees.''''
29. By this unreasonable doctrine, millions, who never had the
offer of a Saviour, have been reprobated and doomed to final per-
dition, because they unhappily came into the world before the
coming of Christ, or lived remote from where his name was
named.
30. How far are the sacred Scriptures from once intimating
that souls, in all ages, were destined immediately to their un-
changeable eternity as they passed out of the mortal scenes of
this momentary life ! How far from intimating, that the small
glimmerings of Divine light, which nations in dark ages enjoyed
E. X.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
593
for a moment, contained all that they should ever enjoy, or that
they were fixed in a state unalterable, and yet reserved for a
final settlement with eternal justice !
81. But on the contrary, those sacred records of inspired truth,
as far as they ever were believed without prejudice, and under-
stood without the dark covering of false systems, have allured
the senses of mankind toward a world of spirits, from whence
their sacred light was inspired : a world real and substantial, and
only invisible by reason of human depravity, and the thick clouds
of darkness occasioned by sin. So that as the Lord liveth, and
as the soul liveth, those that have passed out of this present
world are not more justly judged to be dead, than those who
remain in it.
32. Whatever conjectures may be formed concerning the
temporal judgments of God upon the wicked in past ages, cer-
tain it is, that the Sriptures most pointedly discard the idea of
a final judgment being passed on any soul before the mystery of
God is finished by the appearing and work of Christ.
33. And whatever may be understood concerning any one's
ascending into heaven, yet Christ, who descended from heaven,
testified, saying, No man hath ascended up to heaven. And
Peter immediately after he received the Holy Spirit, bore a
similar testimony, saying, David is not ascended into the heavens:
and St. Paul abundantly proves, in his Epistle to the Romans, that
there was no difference between Jew and Greek, but that God con-
cluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
34. The old world, the inhabitants of Sodom, and the unbeliev-
ing Jews, and many other nations, have been systematically fixed
and bound in chains of eternal darkness, by men more wicked
and beastly than they. But who knew their state the best, the
inventors of human systems or the Son of God, who had the
keys of death and hell ? He testified, saying, The men of Nineveh
shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall
condemn it : and also, that it should be more tolerable for Sodom
and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city which
rejected his testimony.
35. Christ Jesus did not confine his labors to a little flock
of believers, in visible bodies on this globe. The thought is too
inconsistent for any rational being, and is nothing short of limit-
ing the Holy One.
36. The Apostles knew better, and witnessed that he had
opened the way to the city of the living God. The dying thief
knew better, when he said; Lord, remember me (not when thou
goest, but) when thou contest into thy kingdom. To day (said
Jesus) shalt thou be with me in paradise.
37. Now this was the same day in which the antichristians say
he died, and three days before he came to life, and more than
CHAP.
VIII.
John, iii.
13.
Acts, ii. 34.
Roni.xi.32.
Luke, xi.
32.
Mark, vi.
11. See
Isa. xix.
18-25.
Eze. xvi.
49-63.
Psalm,
lxxviii. 41.
Luke,
xxiii. 42,43
594
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
B. X.
CHAP.
VIII
John, viil.
14.
1 Pet. iii.
19, 20.
John, xx.
17.
1 Pet. iv. 6.
Acts, xxvi.
7.
forty days before lie ascended to heaven. Is this like immediately
passing into eternal heaven or hell ? or lying dead for a season,
and then coming to life again ? No such thing.
38. Truly said Jesus Christ to the blind leaders of the
blind, Ye know not whither I go, but I know whither I
go. And verily, it was not into Joseph's new tomb, for the
malefactor could not have the honor of going there with him ;
but into paradise, where many bodies of the saints were gathered,
and from which they arose after his resurrection, and came into
tne holy city, in which God had placed salvation ; which things
the angels desire to look into; for Jesus himself did not then
ascend into heaven, but descended, and did a work of mercy to
the spirits in prison.
39. Nor was the voice of the Son of God confined to the saints
alone, whether in this world, or in a world of spirits, but was
impartially extended to all; and not overlooking those who
through disobedience had forfeited the blessings of former dispen-
sations, he went and preached to the spirits in prison, which were
disobedient in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing.
40. That he had not ascended to heaven, when he appeared
the first time, on the third day after his crucifixion, is evident
from his own words, "I am not yet ascended to my Father."
Certainly, then, the thief could not have gone to heaven before
him !
41. It is inconsistent with a God of infinite justice and good-
ness, that his work should be confined to the contracted limits
of this inferior globe, while worlds of worlds lie naked and open
to his view ; or that the millions who have departed into a world
of spirits, without the knowledge of his will, should be bound in
chains of eternal darkness, without ever hearing the Gospel, in
which only is true happiness and eternal life. For this cause
was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the Spirit.
42. In every dispensation of God's grace, all who were obedient
to the light and will of God made known to them, were accepted
of him, in every nation, left this world in peace, and rested in
hope of a future resurrection. " Unto which (says the Apostle)
our twelve tribes, instantly, [in the world of spirits,] serving
God day and night, hope to come; for which hope's sake, I am
accused of the J civs.'''
43. And, as that order and eternal glory, which God had
reserved for the latter day, was not fully revealed in Christ's first
appearing ; all the Apostles, and true followers of Christ being
raised into a far higher sphere of spiritual elements, remained in a
state of rest, and acceptance with God, waiting in hope for the
coming of that day of glory which was promised.
B. X. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 595
44. Hence the state of the true witnesses was opened in vision °vIfIp"
to St. John, relating to the period of antichrist's reign; and he
saio under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the
word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And it Rev. vi. 9-
was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, ll-
until their fellow servants also, and their brethren that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Their being placed
under the altar, shows that they had a further sacrifice to make,
to inherit the final work of the coming dispensation.
45. Such then is the truth recorded in the sacred writings,
which cannot be broken, and all things written therein, in rela-
tion to Christ, and the work of Redemption, will have their full
and final accomplishment, and not one jot or title thereof fail.
46. And as it is eternal truth, that God shall bring every „ . .
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, 14.
or ivhether it be evil ; so it is eternal truth, that every individual
soul, whom God hath created, must have a free and final offer of
the Gospel, either in this world, or in the world of spirits. For, Ezek. xviii
saith the Lord, "Behold, all souls are mine." 4-
47. And, upon the principles of equal and impartial justice,
the day of God's final visitation and mercy is opened to all ; to
the Jew and the Greek, the Barbarian and Scythian, the bond
and free, the male and female, the present and departed, while Rev xxii
the Spirit and the Bride say, Come: and whosoever will, let him 17-
take the water of life freely.
48. And as there is a sin unto death, which hath never for-
giveness, in this world, or in the world to come, which is the sin ]6Joh"' v'
against the Holy Spirit, in the day of the full revelation of the Mat. xii.
Divine influence of Power and Wisdom, or last display of God's
grace to man ; therefore a final and deliberate choice of evil, in
defiance of known and positive good, after rejecting all the light
and mercy which can be offered to them, is the separating bar
which fixes the final doom of the wicked ; and from such the
mercy of God will be excluded in the day of his final judgment;
and death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire, which is
the second death.
49. But to the soul that is willing to rise up in the judgment
against sin, and condemn it, the gates into the holy city are open
continually, which, in the issue, will make a final end of all those
typical distinctions between Pharoah and Moses, Isaac and
Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and the rest.
50. And he alone that rejects the last and final opening of
salvation and eternal life, shuts himself out with dogs and sor- Rev, xxjj.
cerers, into outer darkness, where shall be weepi?ig and wailing J-j.
and gnashing of teeth; while the righteous shine forth as the \i.
swi, in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath cars to hear,
let him hear.
59G THE SnARP SICKLE. B. X.
CHAPTER IX.
THE GOSPEL TESTIMONY; OR, THE SHARP SICKLE.
chap. ix. "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud
Rev. xiv. one sat> the likeness of the Son of man, having on his head
M-18. a golden crown, (emblem of purity,) and in his hand a sharp
sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying
with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, saying, " Thrust
in thy sickle and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap;
for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the
cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was
reaped.'1''
2. This sharp sickle is the testimony of the everlasting Gospel,
which proceeds from the virgin followers of the Lamb, and the
white cloud the pure element of heaven — the air into which we
are caught up by the coming of Christ. And all souls who
1 Thes iv. rece^ve this testimony, and in whom it has its perfect work, are
17. harvested from the world, and are gathered into the garners of
iiieei2.Tat" Christ as good wheat or seed of righteousness.
3. We would recommend this revelation, joined with the
Rev. xiv. character of those who are with the Lamb, to the candid and
4, 5. serious consideration of " Christian sinners."
4. By the term " Christian sinners'''' is meant those who pro-
fess the name of Christ, and to be his followers; but yet are
* See Con- UU(^er tne necessity of acknowledging that they are "sinners."
fession of And many high professing Christians, and "Christian Churches,"*
Book' of so called, and of reformed antiquity, publicly and before all the
Common world, confess that they commit sin in "thought, word and
deed;"1"1 and in fact, that they are "miserable sinners'." and
there is no earthly chance to gainsay them, or to think or say
See Mat. that i* is n°t s0 • f°r their own words and works, openly declare
xii 36, 37. and prove it to be so : and by their words and works, men. are to
xlev. xx. i • i ii)
32, 13. be judged.
5. It is indeed sorrowful to reflect on the blind and lost con-
dition of the professors of the Christian name, in general; and of
the most popular professing Christian Churches in particular ! it
is melancholy to reflect on the heart- corrupting and soul-debas-
ing errors and inconsistencies, into which they have been led by
the dark influence from the dark ages of the reign and dominion
of antichrist! — to imagine that they are "Christians," that
they are the "followers of Christ," that they are "saints;"
and at the same time know, and must confess that they are
"sinners! "
B. X. THE SHARP SICKLE. 597
6. And then, to palliate the enormity, to find a covering for chap, ix.
their sins and iniquities, and a plastering for the wounded and
guilty conscience, they must fly to some scripture under the " law
of sin," such as, " There is no man that sinneth not," '•'■How
can he he clean that is born of a woman" or " It is no more I
that sin, but sin that divelleth in me," &c.
7. Or what is still worse, the poor " Christian sinner " is taught
to believe, that the obedience and sufferings of Jesus Christ has
entirely satisfied the demand of Divine justice ; and that by some
mysterious kind of " faith " (if he can only once obtain this faith !)
the "righteousness of Christ" is imputed, to him; and that
therefore by this " faith alone," he is covered with the robe of
Christ' 's righteousness, and sin is not imputed to him ; but for
" Christ's sake " he is accounted as a "saint " although he be a 15at16ViI'
"sinner!" What is this but a wolf in sheep's clothing'?
8. But all this "baseless fabric" of antichristian invention
will never do ! Except a man truly confess all his sins, every one
of them; and has as truly forsaken them, in heart and life, so
that he is no more a sinner ; where God and Christ dwells he
can never come. To wander in doubt and in darkness is his
portion.
9. A " Christian sinner" is a strangely metamorphosed, mon-
grel, inconsistent sort of a being. And a saint by profession —
a professed follower of the spotless Son of Grocl — while yet
under the influence and dominion of sin, and while yet under the
necessity of acknowledging himself a sinner, is the same thing.
10. A saint and a sinner live in two very different atmos-
pheres ; in two directly opposite elements ; as the Spirit and the
flesh, light and darkness; neither of which two can ever be
united in one. "For what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness ? What communion hath light with darkness? 14, 15.
What concord hath Christ with Belial ? or what, part hath he
that believeth with an infidel ? And so what part more than the
■infidel sinner can the Christian sinner have in Christ, because
he believes in Christ, and makes a profession of his holy name,
and with great sanctity can say " Lord, Lord," but who neither Mat. vii.
regards his most sacred precepts, nor lives his pure and sinless 21> 23-
life?
11. This matter is worthy of the most serious thoughts and
reflections. Let us look into it a little further. Christ came
into the world to "save his people from their sins, and, to take
aivay their sins." We learn from hence (without any cause or mm i. 21
ground for equivocation,) That all those whom Christ has saved & Johni.
from their sins, and whose sins he has taken away, are such as
have believed on him, and who have truly and effectually received
him into their very hearts, and lives ; and who of course have
followed and do follow his example, set in " the first-born," in
598 THE SHARP SICKLE. B. X.
chap. ix. a daily life of self-denial; commit no sin, and are no longer
under its bondage.
12. On the other hand, the plain and certaiu reason why the
body and generality of professing Christians and professing
Christian Churches are not saved from sinning — why they are
not saved from the influence and dominion of sin, is because
they have never yet known Christ ; they have not truly and
effectually believed on him; nor have they truly and effectu-
ally received him into their hearts, nor are they "reaped from
the earth.''''
13. The certain evidence of this is, that they have not " for-
SeeGai.v. saken all, for Chrisfs sake;'''' They have not " crucified " and
'~, 4. do not " crucify the flesh with all Us affections and lusts : " They
do not walk in his humble and despised "footsteps: " They do
not jnllow his example, by living a pure and holy life ; and by
bearing the " cross daily," as he taught. And hence they still
remain sinners — poor " Christian sinners.'''' And what else can
now remain, but that their faith in Christ is deficient, and "in
vain " ? and that their profession of Christ "is in vain " also ?
and, therefore, their hope is the hope of the hypocrite, and
Job.VlJl. 13. ; 77 • 7
shall perish.
14. This is not to be understood of every individual professing
the Christian name ; but it is to be understood of the popular,
the worldly-minded, professing Christian Churches in their now
present state and condition. For of a truth, there are among
the various denominations, many honest souls, who are seeking
to know and do the will of God ; and all such souls will be
noticed of him in due time, according to their sincerity.
15. But the subject of our discourse now is, concerning
" Christian sinners," such as profess the name of Christ, and
still continue to be overcome by the tempter in committing sin :
Such as profess to be his followers, and still continue to indulge
the vile and unclean passions of their corrupt natures.
16. The fact is that we may profess to believe that God is, and
See Heb. that He will reward every one according to their loorks, and yet
XL 6' not keep his commandments. And so we may profess faith in
Christ Jesus, to be his disciples and followers ; and yet neither
obey his sacred precepts, nor in our lives follow his pure and
holy example. All such kind of faiths and professions are false
and delusive, and ineffectual to the saving of the soul from sin
and pollution, either in this life or in the life to come.
17. Let us consider, then, that God is no respecter of persons,
and that in every nation, those of every sect or denomination
under heaven, that fear Him and work righteousness, are
accepted of him according to their state and degree; for
Luke, xii. " unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much
4S' required." Let us consider also, that, "without Jtoliness no
1 Cot.xiii.
B. X. THE SHARP SICKLE. 599
man shall see the Lord; " that none but " the pure in heart shall chap, ix.
see God;'1'' and that, if we " die in our sins, ivhere Christ is we
cannot come.'''' This leads us to the following reflections,
namely.
18. That the "gifts and callings of God," are without repent- nom. xi.
ance to man in his unregenerate state, and that therefore what- §^"eActs
ever gifts of God, through his mercy and loving kindness, are ii.s-n. '
bestowed upon man in this state, and whatever may be the extent ^.'^18
of those gifts, whether of inspiration, of visions, of revelations,
of tongues or of prophecies ; yet all these are no evidence of
" being born again ; " they are the necessary evidence that God
is, and requires to be obeyed.
19. And moreover, though we understand all mysteries, and
all knowledge; and though we have all faith, so that we could
remove mountains, and have not love — that love which enables
us to keep the commandments of God, and purifies the heart, we
are nothing. And all gifts, given of God, for the time being,
may and must fail, however great and powerful those gifts may
be. But "love faileth not." " God is love ; and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." " Love is the fulfill- i John, iv.
ing of the Law." In love is hope, and "every man that hath xiii 3, kT
this hope in him purifies himself, even as Jesus Christ is pure." * J°hn,iii.
Here is the character of a true follower of Christ ; of a true
Christian; but it is far from the character of a "Christian
sinner ! "
20. It is therefore, not in those gifts of inspiration, of know-
ledge or of prophecy, that the salvation of the soul consists.
But these gifts and callings of God, are the drawings of the
Father, and in obedience to these callings — to those drawings of
the Father, the indwelling and abiding love of God, and the sal-
vation of the soul is obtained. It is then, by the indwelling and
abiding love of God, by obedient love, by this new-creating
Spirit, this living, regenerating, and holy anointing power, Christ
in the soul, that the soul is enabled to conquer sin and death, SeeCoi
and to become pure as Jesus Christ is pure, and holy as he is
holy.
21. These are the precepts of the Gospel, and the commands
of God. And admitting as in sound reason and good conscience
we must do, that the precepts of the Gospel can be obeyed, and
that the commandments of God can be kept; how can the "will-
ing and obedient " be considered any longer " as sinners ? " Souls
are greatly deceived, in believing that the gifts and callings of
the Spirit, are evidences of being " bom of God.^ For nothing
short of full redemption from a sinful nature, is any evidence of
the " new birth.'1'1
22. And, while any man professing the Christian name, and
to be Christ's disciple or follower, is still under the necessity of
i.
27.
600 THE SHARP SICKLE. B. X.
chap. ix. acknowledging himself a sinner, this acknowledgment alone is an
undoubted evidence, that that man has in reality never yet known
of the redeeming love of God, nor of the saving power of his
Christ.
See Acts, 23. Now, although the gifts of God, in inspiration, in revela-
" ■~~n- tion, in tongues and prophecies, are at times, the marvellous
manifestations of his power and goodness, and often have wonder-
ful effects on the soul, in the acknowledgment of God, and his
marvellous works ; yet these gifts are small in comparison with
the perpetual and never failing endowment of the holy Anointing
Mai.iii. 2, Spirit, Christ in the soul; and there abiding "as a refiner's fire,"
3- until sin has no more dominion over us ; until the least and last
remains of a corrupt and sinful nature are destroyed.
24. This, therefore, is a far greater gift of the grace of God
than any other gift of inspiration, or of any knowledge what-
ever besides. It is not only the being endowed with Divine
power, to cease from committing sin in the present tense ; but it
is the Divine power and the work that will effect the resurrection
from the dead ; the redemption from the fall ; and the recom-
munication with the angels of God. It is nothing short of the
regeneration and the new birth ; of being begotten again, of the
Spirit ; and born again, of the Spirit ; and becoming a new
creature.
25. It is, therefore, among the first degrees of our concern
for an interest in Christ ; that we regard with conscientious care
the secret and silent drawings of the Father ; that we cherish
the faith and obey the light which God has given us, until we
receive from him power to overcome all sin, in thought, ivord,
and deed. And however great may be our faith, whatever may
be our attainments or professions in the knowledge of mysteries
and faculties of our nature ; if we have not the saving power,
Christ, abiding and reigning in the soul, we are none of his ; we
are nothing. Our profession of Christianity is nothing.
26. Let us now see, and consider, what those who have gone
2Cor. v.17. before us in the way of life have said on the subject. "If any
Rom. v. 17. man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away ; behold all things are become new.'''' Is then this new man
in Christ any more a sinner? Can those who are in Christ, and
Christ in them, and who are become neio creatures ; can these
any longer look to God as sinners must look to him ? or do they
„ ■ o not rather look to him as obedient children to a kind and tender
Kom. VI. o,
4, o, 7. parent ?
27. Again, "How shall we that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were bap-
tized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death ? There-
fore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like
as Jesus Christ was raised tip from the dead by the glory of the
Rom.
10.
B. X. THE SHARP SICKLE. G01
Father, even so we also should walk in neivness of life — knowing chap. ix.
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of Rom vi 2
sin might be destroijed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 3,4,6,7."'
For he that is dead [to sin] is freed from sin."
28. Now, what could have been expressed plainer than all this,
to show the great contrast between the " Christian sinner,'" one
who professes the name of Christ, but still remains (be it more
or less) under the dominion of sin, and the true follower of
Christ, who is baptized into his death, who is crucified with
him, and has risen with him in neioness of life, and in whom sin
is destroyed? Let us not be deceived. Without this baptism
of the Holy Spirit — without this power and victory over sin, and
over all the temptations and allurements of a sinful nature, in
vain has Jesus Christ suffered and died for us ; and vain is the
profession of our faith in his atonement for our sins.
29. Again: " The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the laiv of sin and death. And if 2'
Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin ; but the spirit
is life, because of righteousness." Now, if the law of the
spirit of life in Christ has made us free from the law of sin and
death, how then are we yet under the bondage of sin ? How
then are we yet sinners ?
30. If Grod in his mercy, and in our obedience to those pre-
cepts, and example of his Son, has forgiven us our sins — has freed
us from the bondage of sin and death, and we commit no more
sin — would it not be the height of ingratitude ? would it not be
a sacred mockery of God's mercy and goodness to be still harass-
ing and imploring him to " forgive us our sins ? " Yet this
is the present state of the poor " Christian sinner," who
believes in Christ, and professes his name, but who in reality has
never yet found him.
31. And if, as the Apostle above declares, Christ be in us,
and toe are dead to sin; how can we, in honest truth, say that
we are yet sinners ? Would not this be denying the Lord that
bought us ! Would not this be denying his saving power ?
Would it not be denying his redeeming love ? Let it, then, be
an established maxim, That where Christ dwells, sin has no
place. And so, on the contrary, where sin has any dominion, Rom. vi. 2,
(in individuals or in churches,) Christ's abode is not there; he
or they are not under Ms dominion.
32. Again : Whosoever abideth in him [Christ's Spirit] sinneth
not. Certainly, then, whosoever sinneth not, is no longer a " sin- 0
ner." But whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him neither knoivn
him." Could anything be said plainer than this to open the
eyes of the " Christian sinner?" Cannot the professed Chris-
tian, who still finds himself a sinner, see and be convinced that
nothing short of Christ living, abiding, and reigning in him, as
39
1 John, iii.
G02 THE SHARP SICKLE. B. X.
chap. ix. the mainspring of his life, of all his thoughts, words and actions,
can ever save and purify his soul from sin ? It is in this sense
alone, that Jesus Christ ever was or ever can be our Mediator ;
or that he ever did or ever can make an atonement for our sins :
by " Christ dwelling in us and ice in Him."
i John, iii. 33. Again : " Be that committeth sin is of the devil ; for the
| . devil sinneth from the beginning. And " his servants ye are,
to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey ; whether of sin
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." Can testimony
be more clear and unequivocal than this, to show under whose
dominion the sinner still is ? Notwithstanding the " Christian
sinner " may try to hide himself under the cloak of " Christ's
righteousness" and try to persuade himself that, although he be
a sinner, by some mysterious kind of " faith," and by that
"faith alone" if he can but once obtain it, the " righteousness
of Christ" will be imputed to him ; and that though sinner he
remains during life, God will forgive and pardon all his sins for
"Christ's sake;"
34. All this false faith and delusive evasion, of antichrist's
invention, cannot change or lessen the testimony of truth. " H e
that committeth sin is of the devil. And is sin any less " of the
devil," or less heinous in the sight of God, when committed by
the Christian sinner, than when the same is committed by the
infidel sinner? Far from it. Sin is sin; and whether it be
a great sin or a little sin, its hue is forever and unchangeably
black ! offensive and oppresive, to the pure and holy Spirit ; a
" reproach to any people," and especially a reproach to the name
of Jesus Christ, who came and suffered and died for the express
purpose of " saving his people from their sins." Professors of
Christianity, where are you ?
35. Again : As whosoever is in Christ sinneth not, it is
most clearly evident, that "in this the children of God are
manifest, and the children of the devil." By this clear distinc-
tion of character, the candid professor of Christianity, who
Uohn iii. knows how to appreciate the value of self-examination, may
10- readily discover his true condition ; whether Christ abide in him,
and he in Christ, or not? Whether he is "dead to sin," and
" sin has no more dominion over him," or not ? The conclusion,
then, will be self-evident, whether he be under the dominion of
Christ, or still under the dominion of sin.
l John i 8 36. Again : (And this is often used as an objection to a pure
s. ' and sinless life :) " If we say we have no sin, we deceive our-
selves, and the truth is not in us." But, mind what fol-
lows: " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our si?is, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous-
ness."
37. Now, how can the soul whose "sins are forgiven," and
B. X. THE SHARP SICKLE. 603
who is "cleansed from all unrighteousness," be said to be still chap. ix.
a sinner, without denying the saving power of Christ, and
" changing the truth of God into a lie2." But the secret is,
that the professor of Christianity, the mere nominal professor,
although he confess himself to be a sinner, and even a " misera-
ble sinner," has never yet truly repented of his sins, nor yet
truly confessed his sins, in the order of God, one by one, to
God's acceptance; else his testimony, from experience, would
be that "If toe confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just
to forgive tis our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous-
ness."
38. And lastly: " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit ij0hn m.
sin ; for his seed [his word] remaineth in him; and he cannot 9-
sin, because he is born of God." Is it not evident from this
that the children of God do not commit sin ? And is it not
equally evident that those who commit sin (whatever their pro-
fession may be) are not counted or accepted of God as his chil-
dren ? No testimony of the effects of the true Gospel can be
more clear and incontrovertible."
39. This testimony, that those who are the true children of
God, do not commit sin, is again repeated, and unequivocally
confirmed: " We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth i John. v.
not ; but he that is begotten of God Iceepeth himself, and that. 18-
wicked one toucheth him not." Cannot the poor " Christian
sinner" see that while he is yet (occasionally) overcome by sin,
he is yet, so far, a "child of wrath" and not a child of God ?
40. Cannot the honest "seeker after righteousness ; " the soul
that secretly groans for full salvation and for complete power
and dominion over all the allurements and temptations of an
evil and sinful nature, and yet does not obtain that saving power ;
cannot such a one clearly see, that he or she, or they, are not
even yet " begotten of God," to say nothing of that vastly supe-
rior and higher atttainment of being bom of Him — of being
the children of the second birth ?
41. And here we have again arrived on the same ground which
we have before so extensively explored and so carefully exam-
ined, in the preceding pages, concerning the order of God in the
work of regeneration, and the second birth, or being " born
again." The conclusion is still the same; the same unchange-
able truth remains: That, as we can have no existence as "chil-
dren of this world" without a natural father and natural
mother ;
42. So neither can we, without the co-operating spiritual
power and influence of the Father Spirit, and the Mother Spirit,
have any existence as the " children of God ; " that we must first
be "begotten again," before we can be " born again; " that it
is by the Spirit of life in the Father, by which we are begotten
G04 THE SnARP SICKLE. B. X.
chap. ix. into "newness of life;'''' and by the Spirit of life from the
Mother, by which we must be brought forth in the "new crea-
tion" before we are or can become the sons and daughters of
God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ in his kingdom.
43. This is the hidden mystery of all true godliness. " But
the natural man receivelh not the things of the Spirit of God ;
for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he knoio them,
iCor.n.14. because they are spiritually discerned." Now we know that an
infant child at its mother's breast is not capable of compre-
hending or knowing the cause and manner of its existence,
until it becomes of mature and sufficient age to comprehend
its parentage, and to know the origin of the existence of its
being.
44. And so it is with the natural man ; he may doubt and
cavil against fact, and, be like a naughty child, that slaps its
mother in her face ; but until he attains to sufficient maturity —
until by experience he shall have become acquainted with the
vital principles of his spiritual as well as natural existence — how
can such a one be capable of knowing or judging correctly, of a
spiritual parentage in the spiritual work of the regeneration
and the new birth ?
iCor.ii. 45. "-No man can know the things of God save by the Spirit
10>u- of God." And Jesus said to the Jews: "My doctrine is not
mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do His will, he
John, vii. shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself." Is it not clear, then, that except a man have
the Spirit of God to enlighten his mind; and except he be in a
condition of doing God's will, he cannot know of the true doc-
trines of the Gospel?
46. And so likewise, except by experience from the invisi-
ble operations of the spirit of God on the " inner man" — on the
soul — no man in the tide of nature, can either know or compre-
hend the invisible, the mysterious, though real, spiritual work
of the regeneration and the new birth. And hence the truth
John iii. 8. declared ; " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but cannot tell zvhence it cometh, and whither
it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
47. We need not wonder, therefore, why such as make it their
choice to live in the course of " fallen nature," should doubt and
stumble at the doctrine, that in the work of man's redemption
from his loss, and in the manifestations of Christ for that pur-
pose, the agency of the female is as necessary as that of the
male. Reason itself — the reason with which God has endowed
us as rational beings, teaches the consistency of this.
48. The very order of our existence, as well as the order of
all living creatures besides, teach this vital principle : That,
as in the work of natural generation, there can be neither exist-
B. X. THE SHARP SICKLE. G05
ence nor progression in the visible outward or natural world, chap.ix.
without the mutual and co-operating power and influence of both r
■male and female ; so there can be no existence, nor progression,
in the invisible and spiritual, of which the natural and visible is
but a figure — a faint emblem — a mere shadow; — the natural
being transitory, the spiritual eternal — without the union of
male and female spirits.
49. But, if neither reason nor revelation, nor matters of fact,
can convince the doubting Christian, or disbeliever, that in the
"new creation" of God, there must be both a Father spirit to
beget, and a Mother spirit to bring forth, in order to be " born
again,1"1 such must inevitably remain sinners; for without this
the power of salvation cannot be dispensed. Such must re-
main in a state of unhappy doubt, until they are willing to divest
themselves of the prejudices imbibed from sectarian education.
50. Then they can see and believe in the order and consist-
ency by which all animate creation is upheld ; and that by the
immutable and eternal laws of the Creator, man is designed to
progress from impurity to purity — from the natural to the spir-
itual— and from the lower to the higher states of existence,
through the operations of the Father and Mother Spirit; and
except a man is disposed to "see and believe," and to receive
this truth, the second birth he will never find ; the state of
increasing celestial enjoyments he can never know.
51. It is by no means improper that "Christian sinners"
(whether great or small,) should look to God, the only source of
all good, for salvation and deliverance from sin, in the best
manner they know, and according to the best light they may
have received. And so it is the duty and privilege of all, both
those who seek deliverance from sin, and those who have found
this deliverance, to look to one and the same source for the things
they need.
52. But it is proper to remark, that those who have found
deliverance from sin, who have obtained dominion over the in-
fluence of evil, these do not look to God "as being yet sinners ; "
but they look to him as affectionate and obedient children look
to a kind and tender parent, for their spiritual support and
increase in goodness.
53. In short, it is only by the revelation of God in the soul,
and by the operations and manifestations of the Spirit through the
" Hwo Anointed Ones," that any can find deliverance from the
bondage of sin, and redemption from their lost condition. And
by finding this, they will find and experience the redeeming love
of a spiritual Father, and the fostering care of a spiritual Mother.
54. Jesus Christ declared, "No man cometh unto the Father, John, xiv.
but by me." And, "No man can come to me except the Father joknvi.44.
which hath sent me draw him." By the inward operations of
GOG THE SHARP SICKLE. B. X.
chap. ix. the Spirit — the drawings of the Father, we become convinced of
sin, and of the error of our ways. And from the same cause, we
are led to the honest confession of every known sin and pollution ;
and to the entire forsaking and total abandonment of the same
forever, as the only fruits of true repentance.
55. Thus, in obedience and conformity to these convictions, we
find salvation, and become enabled to follow the example and to
walk daily in the self-denying footsteps of Jesus Christ, the
Redeemer, and strictly to obey his sacred injunction, "Follow
me." And by progressive steps we obtain the knowledge of a
spiritual parentage, and consecpuently of the source of our spiritual
existence.
56. Hence by the same progressive steps of self-denial and
the daily cross, we are progressively divested of all sinister
views; of all impure and selfish motives, and become a united
and celestial brotherhood, whose vital living and moving principle,
is love; whose interests, temporal and spiritual, are all one; who
see " eye to eye; " who are of " one heart and of one soul ; " who
See Phil. are " redeemed from among ?nen; " and whose "-correspondence
iii. 80. and conversation is in heaven."
57. And in this state, we experience the celestial enjoyment
of peace and acceptance with God our Creator, the Source of all
light, the living Essence of life, and the Fountain of all good.
Such is the true condition of all who are in possession of the pure
Grospel of Jesus Christ.
58. Therefore the candid enquirer after truth, the honest
seeker for salvation, may be confidently assured, that Grod,
isa. xivi. according to his promise, has placed salvation in the Zion of his
p3' - in §l°ry or likeness! that " Noiv is come salvation and strength,
Rev.xix.7.' and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ!"
that the time of the "marriage of the Lamb" with his Bride,
has actually and verily come, as promised ! " And the Spirit and
the Bride say Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; and let
him that is athirst, come : and whosoever will, let him take of
the water of life freely."
H^'^o " That which we have heard and seen declare we unto you;
and we bear record; and ye may know that our record is true."
Benjamin Seth Youngs.
P. S. Having now had the experience of sixty years in* this
Testimony, forty-five of them since the original of this volume
was written and published, I have fully proved the principles
and doctrines declared in the foregoing pages of this work, by
its effects in my own soul, and in many hundreds of others,
to be the testimony of the everlasting Gospel of salvation and
peace.
B. X. THE CONCLUSION. 607
It is truly the " sharp sickle,''' which cuts off souls from the chap. x.
evil propensities of a fallen nature, and gathers them into Christ' 's Mat iii. 12.
garner. This I have experienced to the full satisfaction of my
soul ; and many hundreds, in this day, can bear witness, that
they have proved it to be the power of God unto salvation.
And being now in the eightieth year of my age, and feeling
that my work on earth is nearly finished, and having an ardent
desire for the good of all men, with the purest regard, and heart-
felt interest for the present and future welfare and happiness of
my fellow beings, I leave this as my last solemn testimony,
before all men, in the love and fear of God, sincerely praying and
hoping that it may do good to all such as are honestly seeking
to find the way of salvation and eternal life.
B. S. Y.
Note. Our brother, Benjamin S. Youngs, has since deceased.
CHAPTER X.
the conclusion; addressed to young believers.
To all who have received the faith of the Son of God, in the pre-
sent opening of the everlasting Gospel, and in obedience thereunto,
have confessed and forsaken their sins, and have separated them-
selves from the common course and practice of this present evil
world, with a full determination to follow the Lamb whitherso-
ever he goeth. We address you in the bonds of love.
2. Brethren and sisters, dearly beloved for the truth's sake,
before we close this present work, we think it expedient, in a few
words, to address you in particular; sensible of the important
relation which we bear towards you, as well as of the greatness
of the work into which you are called, and the effect which it
must finally have upon all souls.
3. According to our experience, and the gift of God committed
to us, and the present state of mankind to receive the truth, we
have opened the most essential matters of fact that have taken
place in different ages of the world, from the beginning, in relation
to the salvation and redemption of souls. And as the way of God
is in the great deep of the Divine nature, ivhom no man hath seen
?ior can see, it is expected that many things, in relation to his
work, will appear dark and mysterious to all flesh.
608 THE CONCLUSION. B. X.
chap.x. 4_ However, it has been our aim to state things agreeable to
truth, and according to that measure of light and understanding
which we have received from God, without any design of pleasing
man: we have therefore used great plainness of speech both in
exposing the lost state of man, in all ages, as sunk in the cor-
ruptions and lusts of a carnal nature, and in opening the straight
and narrow way of self-denial, for both man and woman, accord-
ing to Christ's first and second appearing.
5. We are fully apprised of the infinite flood of objections,
which naturally arise in human nature, against those piercing
and very mortifying truths, although we have not thought proper
to investigate or answer those objections so fully as some may
wish ; nor do we suppose that they ever will be fully answered
by paper and ink, or any thing short of that convincing arrow,
the light and power of God, by which they shall make their own
tongue to fall upon themselves.
6. Whatever reasonings the human imagination may invent,
they are no more than empty bubbles, when compared to the
power of God, which is made known by real facts, according to
the times and seasons of his work. Therefore it is not for us to
indulge a spirit of vain reasoning, but to believe what God hath
wrought, and by obedience, to reap the everlasting benefit.
7. As the principles and facts which we have stated are plain
and simple, it requires nothing more than for the mind to be
divested of prejudice and a false education, to believe them ; and
in truth, it is impossible for any soul that is simply honest and
bent after the truth and hears it, to believe any thing else.
8. We have plainly testified the well known and undeniable
truth, that man, in his natural state, is fallen from God into the
nature of the wicked one; that all mankind remained in that
fallen state, in a greater or less degree, until Christ in the
Saviour appeared ; that he took that nature and crucified it, as
an example to all souls ; and that as many as took up the same
cross, and followed him in that day, were a kind of first-fruits of
his creatures.
9. We have also testified that there was a falling away, that
antichrist reigned, and that no true Church, nor the perfect way
of God, wa3 known on the earth, for many ages ; but that, accord-
ing to the testimony of all the true witnesses, it was to be
opened in the latter day. Accordingly, we have plainly stated
how, and where, and when, the perfect way of God was opened
the second time; and what those souls have actually obtained
who have come into it.
10. These things, dearly beloved, are not cunningly devised
fables, nor matters of mere speculation, as you yourselves also
know; but they are the most important facts that ever were ex-
hibited on earth. And we can confidently say, that as universally
B. X. THE CONCLUSION. 609
as Jew and Gentile were convinced of sin, so universally they chap, x.
all expected a Saviour; and as extensive as their expect-
ations were, so extensive has the news circulated through
the earth, that Jesus was the person ordained of God to that
office.
11. And again: As extensively as the name of Christ Jesus
hath spread through the earth, and souls have been awakened to
a deeper sense of their loss, so universally hath the second appear-
ing of Christ been expected ; and to the same extent shall it be
known, that through the blessed Mother of our redemption, the
glory and perfection of his Divine nature hath been revealed
for salvation, unto the ends of the earth, in these latter
days.
12. It would doubtless have been very gratifying to the
idolatrous kingdom of antichrist, had the biography of Jesus
of Nazareth been as fully and clearly stated as that of Gen-
eral Washington, or some of the great and noble ones of the
earth.
13. Could they have ascertained the precise time of his birth ;
the .name of the inn-keeper in whose stable he was born ; how
many shepherds, and what their names were, who found him and
his mother; to what size he grew, and what was his shape and
color ; such frivolous circumstances would have feasted their
refined taste, while the main subject of his mission was wholly
disregarded.
14. But whatever curious minds were in search after, certain
it is, the true believer gloried only in his having found the
Messiah; and it was immaterial to such how he came, seeing
this was he of whom Moses and the Prophets did write. So in
regard to his second appearing, a thousand curious enquiries may
be raised, relating to temporal circumstances, which are mere
bubbles of vanity to souls who are groaning under the bondage
of sin, and earnestly longing for redemption.
15. The first in America who received the testimony of the
Gospel, were satisfied that it was the truth of God against all sin,
and that in faithful obedience thereunto, they should find that
salvation and deliverance from the power of sin, for which they
sincerely panted. And being made partakers of the glorious
liberty of the sons of God, it was a matter of no importance
with them from whence the means of their deliverance came,
whether from a stable in Bethlehem, or from Toad-lane in
Manchester.
16. Nor could any circumstance, demeaning to the pride of
man, be construed in any other light, than as an evidence that
God had chosen things that are despised, to bring to naught
things that are highly esteemed among men, that no flesh should
glory in his presence.
010 THE CONCLUSION. B. X.
chap, x. i7# it was sufficient, that the testimony of God had reached
them, and that the requirement of God was plainly made known,
and all they had to do was to improve their privilege, and
he thankful that they were counted worthy to receive the
word of God, through whatever medium he was pleased to
bestow it.
18. This they have done by a patient continuance in well-
doing, amidst false and slanderous reports, amidst scoffings, rail-
ings, buffetings, stripes, and imprisonments. And thus, by
the overcoming spirit and power of the Gospel, they have
transmitted unto you the testimony of Christ, pure and unde-
filed.
19. And by no higher argument will you ever be able to vin-
dicate the past, or recommend the present work of God, than by
the innocence of your lives and the purity of your morals ; while,
by the present gift and power of God, your only guardian, you
grow up into the Divine nature, resisting and overcoming all
"fleshly lusts which war against the soul ; having your conversa-
tion honest ; that whereas they speak evil against you as evil
doers, they may, by your good works which they behold, glorify
God in the day of visitation. For so is the will of God, that
with loell-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
lPet.ii.15.
men."
20. The false spirit of antichrist may yet continue, for a sea-
son, to slander and misrepresent all you do and say. A time-
serving priesthood, who neither know what they say, nor whereof
they affirm, may palm upon you the character of deceivers,
wolves in sheep's clothing, and gather up and circulate every
lying report against you. Or, seeing the hope of their gain
cut off, they may, through envy, stir up lewd fellows of the
baser sort, to abuse your persons or property, as they have often
done.
21. But, if they have persecuted me, (said Jesus,) they will
also persecute you. And if they have called the master of the
house Beelzebub, how much more they of his household. EC?' The
true followers of Christ never persecuted any : Therefore, by
their fruits ye shall know them.
22. But whatever subtle argument or false accusation may be
brought against the faith or practice of the followers of Christ in
this day, no supposable or imaginary future event can be any
rule for our present conduct ; but the certain will of God we are
to do, as revealed to us, and to submit the event to the Disposer
of all things ; knowing of a certainty that those who are without
as well as those who are within, must, sooner or later, pass
through the same equitable judgment.
23. Therefore we are in nowise bound to answer the incon-
sistent query, " What ivould become of the ivorld, if all the
B. X. THE CONCLUSION. 611
human race were to live as you do ?" With as much propriety chap, x.
we might ask, What would have become of beasts and men, if
Noah had disobeyed God, and lived like the rest of the world ?
Or what would have become of Jesus, and the millions who have
been taught to follow his example, if Joseph and Mary, through
disobedience, had refused to fly from the persecuting cruelty of
Herod ?
24. And with equal propriety we might ask, what would have
become of the world, had all followed the teaching and example
of the Saviour, in his first appearing, and, with him, lived lives
of virgin purity ? A thousand such questions might be asked ;
but it is not a question of so much concern to the people of God,
what will become of the world, as it is to know their Lord's will,
and do it, and thereby to flee from the wrath to come.
25. Thousands and millions may be butchered, nation may be
destroyed by nation, and the earth may be involved in blood and
calamity, and nothing said about the danger or wickedness of
such an example, nor any concern expressed about the world's
coming to an end.
26. But, no sooner do souls confess and forsake their sins,
and set out to follow the example of Christ Jesus, than
the hue and cry is raised, The world will come to an
end ! As if man was a mere lump of flesh and blood, created
for no higher end than to live after the flesh, in the gratification
of their lusts, and to destroy one another.
27. Still more inconsistent is the query of the vain anti-
christian, " If all were to cease from the works of the flesh, how
would the Church be supplied, or what would God do for
preachers and saints to worship and praise himV For it is
abundantly manifest, that those who live after the flesh cannot
please God, and that it was expressly for the purpose of raising
up a people to serve God, that Christ came and set the example
of crucifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts.
28. In answer to this spirit of caviling in the Jews, it was
testified that God is able of these stones to raise up children
unto. Abraham. Christ Jesus came to seek and to save that
which was lost ; and not to raise up another generation of lost
beings, neither is it any more the work of his followers than
his.
29. Therefore the true ministers of Christ and worshippers of
God, being born of the Spirit, are not debtors to the flesh to live
after the flesh, in any of its gratifications; but are those who live
the heavenly life, by the power and energy of the Holy Spirit
which is in them, and the resurrection from the dead ; being
redeemed from men, even from the corrupt nature of man, " and
are not defiled with women; for they are virgins, without fault
before the throne of God."
Rev. xiv.4.
012 THE CONCLUSION. B. X.
chap, x. 3Qt The last blind argument, to foster and soothe the flesh, is
the doctrine of a final resurrection of all those human bodies
that have mingled with the common elements of the globe,
through all ages, since the first man. But if there were no other,
argument to confute such an absurd doctrine, its own inconsist-
ency might be fully sufficient to render it contemptible in the
eyes of every wise man.
31. From such unreasonable, unscriptural, and senseless super-
stition, God has in mercy delivered you : whereas it was but a
few years ago, that the altar of superstition was reeking with
the blood of the innocent and virtuous, who dared to hope
for that better resurrection, of which you are the living wit-
nesses.
32. What millions, from sequestered valleys and desolate
mountains, from lonely cottages and silent groves, from torture
rooms, and racks, and devouring flames, have looked, and wept,
and prayed, towards this latter day of liberty and peace ! How
have they talked of the rights of man, and labored to describe
in words what your eyes behold, and your souls daily enjoy,
namely, the blessings of peace and salvation, in a land sacred to
freedom !
33. Then, how unspeakably great is your privilege, seeing the
eyes of all who have ever suffered in the cause of virtue, have
earnestly looked towards the privileges you enjoy, and have
justly expected, with you, to receive the crown of eternal glory,
and with you to drink of the river of the water of life.
34. And from whence have flowed those blessings, both civil
and sacred, which you enjoy, but from Almighty God, the wise
Disposer of all events ; by whose providence you are placed, not
only under the American Eagle, the brightest ensign of civil
and religious liberty ever raised on the earth since the fall of
man, but under the sunshine of the everlasting Gospel, the only
object of real and abiding happiness.
35. Therefore, while you, with others, enjoy your just and
natural rights, those wholesome laws of freedom will ever be
respected by every true Believer ; and much more that sacred and
eternal law of the Spirit of life, in Christ's second appearing, by
which you are freed from the dominion of sin, and made par-
takers of that knowledge and virtue, which will eventually be-
come the desire of all the nations of the earth.
36. Unshackled by superstition, unbiassed by the terrors of
tyranny, and redeemed from false systems, and the reigning
power of iniquity, by which your souls were held in bondage,
you stand free to judge between truth and error, light and dark-
ness, good and evil, and to choose that which you, as a free and
chosen people, deliberately judge to be productive of the greatest
present and eternal good.
B. X. COMPEND. 613
37. And being the seed of the woman, chosen of God to bruise
(or rather crush) the serpent's head, to keep the commandments
of God, and maintain the testimony of Jesus, it is your inesti-
mable privilege to follow the example of those through whom
you have been begotten into the enduring substance of eternal life.
And being called and chosen, be ye faithful to prove that you are
not bastards, but sons and daughters, just and rightful heirs to
the promised inheritance, through whom all the families of
the earth shall be blessed, in turning every one from his
iniquity.
38. Finally, Brethren and Sisters, fa rewell. Be wise, be per-
fect, be of good comfort, be of one mind ; keep the gift of God,
and the gift of God will keep you. Live in peace ; and the God
of love and peace will be with you, and establish you unshaken,
and immovable, in his -kingdom of righteousness and eternal
truth. — Amen.
A brief Compend of the Practical Principles by which the
Society is guided in all its institutions.
] st. Purity in mind and body, including a virgin life, as ex-
emplified and inculcated by Jesus Christ, as the way that leads
to God. " Blessed are the pure in heart ; for they shall see God."
2d. Honesty and integrity in all their words and dealings ;
according to the precept of the Saviour, "As ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them."
3d. Hum unity and kindness to both friend and foe. "Charity
never faileth." "Love is the fulfilling of the law." "Over-
come evil with good." This rule comprehends the proper con-
duct towards all the animal creation.
4th. To be "diligent in business serving the Lord." All
labor with their hands, according to their strength and abilities ;
all are industrious, but not slavish. "Idleness is the parent of
want."
5th. To use prudence, economy, temperance and frugality,
but not parsimony; agreeable to the Apostolic injunction, " Let
your moderation be Known to all."
Gil COMPEND. B. X.
6th. To keep clear of debt. " Owe no man any thing but
love and good will."
7th. The suitable education of children, in scriptural and
other useful knowledge and science, Their schools are acknow-
ledged, by the District Superintendents, to be at least equal to
any country schools in the states where they are located.
8th. A united interest in all things is their general order;
but none are required to come into it, except as a matter of free
choice ; for this order is not a principle ; but is the result of
mutual love and unity of spirits ; and cannot be supported where
the selfish relations of husband, wife, and children exist. This
order is the greatest and clearest demonstration of practical love.
" By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another."
9th. Suitable employment and exercises to be provided for all,
according to their genius and circumstances. Their general
employments are agriculture, horticulture, and useful mechanical
arts. Thus all may be busy, peaceable, and happy.
10th. All are suitably provided for, in health, sickness, and
old age; all being equally of the one "household of faith."
And, from a comparison of statistics, it is evident that, on an
average, the health and longevity of the members fully equal
that of the individuals of any community of which we have any
account.
Indeed, to sum it all up, to seek and practice every virtue,
without superstition, is the leading tenet of their profession.
" Add to your faith, virtue," &c.
APPENDIX.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE
UNITED SOCIETY.
In order to have a just view of the preceding work, it should
he understood that, from the beginning, all the works of God,
have been progressive, growing into higher and higher degrees
and orders, of maturity and perfection. But the Divine sphere of
orders and perfections was never brought to light, until revealed See 1 Cor.
by the pure Spirit of Christ, in his first and second appearing. ix 12'
2. During the many ages of antichristian darkness, when the
rights and consciences of the human race were bound in the
fetters of ecclesiastical bigotry, and the chains of tyrannical and
arbitrary power.
3. Faithful witnesses, chosen and appointed of God, had from
age to age, borne testimony against this beastly and bloody power
of antichrist, millions of whom had fallen victims to his cruelty ;
but, under the invisible and restraining power of Christ, this
beastly influence began to be cut off at the time appointed.
4. The people called Quakers were the last, who were perse-
cuted unto death, for the testimony which they held; but, as the
work among them never advanced to a separation between the
kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of this world, hence in pro-
cess of time, distrusting the providence of God, and petitioning
the same antichristian power for toleration and protection, and
taking part in the wordly government under the dominion of
antichrist, they gained an honorable standing in the world, but
lost that degree of the light and power of God, in which they had
at first stood for a time.
5. Soon after this, the spirit of prophecy appeared in those
called French prophets, attended with the most convincing
evidences of Divine power ; but these extraordinary appearances
were not of long continuance.
6. However, a few of those French prophets came over to
Engla?id about the year 1706, and opened their testimony in and
about London, which was a means of great awakening, and num-
bers received their spirit, which continued to operate, in a greater
or less degree, until its principal effect was produced in a small
body of people, who were gathered into a society, under the
GIG aitendix.
special ministry of James and Jane Wardley, among whom was
a particular work of preparation for the true and real manifesta-
tion of Christ. This work began in Bolton and Manchester, in
the county of Lancashire, in England, about the year 1747.
II. 1. James Wardley, a tailor by trade, and Jane his wife,
who wrought at the same occupation, had belonged to the society
of people called Quakers ; but, receiving the spirit of the French
prophets, and a further degree of light and power, by which they
were separated from that community, they continued for several
years, disconnected from every denomination. During this time,
their testimony, according to what they saw by vision, and reve-
lation from God, was, That the second appeari?ig of Christ zvas
at hand, and that the Church was rising in her full and trans-
ccndant glory, which would effect the final downfall of antichrist.
2. From Bolton they removed to Manchester, and lived for a
number of years in Canon Street, with John Townley, who was
by trade a bricklayer; and possessed considerable property.
Here the number of persons forming their society, was about
thirty.
3. James and Jane Wardley, as well as most of the society,
were in low temporal circumstances ; but as John Townley was
wealthy, he contributed liberally to the support of such of the
society as were needy ; on which account he sustained much in-
jury in his property, by persecutors. The meetings of the society
were held both at Manchester and Bolton, (which were twelve
miles apart,) but more generally at Manchester.
III. 1. John Townley had a measure of faith in the testimony
of James and Jane Wardley ; his wife was a member of the society,
and had great power of God, and the gift of prophecy. John
Hocknell was her natural brother; he lived in Cheshire,
twenty-four miles from Manchester. According to the ac-
count of his daughter, Mary Hocknell, he, having separated
from the Church of England, had joined the Methodist society,
and had stated meetings at his house; till visiting the society
at Manchester several times, and afterwards being visited by
James Wardley, about the year 1766, he received faith in his
testimony.
2. And, being very zealous for the cause, and a wealthy man,
a number of poor members of the society were gathered and sup-
ported at his house, which, at first displeased Hannah his wife,
and her natural relations, (the Dickins family,) who were wealthy
and high-spirited people ; whereupon three of her brothers, with
, the assistance of a magistrate, had John put into prison at Middle-
wich, four miles from his own house. He was tried and released.
Soon after, Hannah became a member of the society, and con-
tinued through all the increase of the work, till she departed this
life (in America) sound in the faith of the Gospel, A. D. 1797.
APPENDIX. 617
IV. 1. About this time, [1766,] and onward, the Believers
frequently held meetings at John Partington's, in Mayor-town,
as they passed and repassed from Manchester to John Hock-
nell's. The manner of public devotion practised by the society,
while under the ministry of Jane and James Wardley, was, in
divers operations of the Spirit and power of God, according as
they were moved from time to time.
2. Sometimes, after assembling together, and sitting a while
in silent meditation, they were taken with a mighty trembling,
under which they would express the indignation of God against
all sin. At other times, they were affected, under the power of
God, with a mighty shaking; and were occasionally exercised in
singing, shouting, or walking the floor, under the influence of
spiritual signs, swiftly passing and repassing each other, like
clouds agitated by a mighty wind.
3. From these strange exercises the people received the name
of Shakers, and by some were called Shaking Quakers ; but,
from the time of James Wardley' s ministration to the present
day, they have been most generally known and distinguished by
the name of Shakers. But their being led into shaking by the
power of God, is an evident sign, to discerning minds, of the
Divine nature of the work.
V. 1. The work which God promised to accomplish in the
latter day was eminently marked out by the Prophets, to be a
work of shaking; and hence the name was very properly
applied to the people, who were both the subjects and instruments
of the work of God in the latter day.
2. Thus the Lord promised that he would shake the earth with Lowth's
terror; that "in that day there should be a great shaking in translation
the land of Israel; " that he would "shake the heavens and the 19,21."
earth ; " that he would "shake all nations, and the Desire of all Ezeki?'>
•TIT ) ) A I • 1 11 XXXVM. 19,
nations should come. And, according to the Apostle, that Hyet 20.
o?ice more, he would shake, not the earth only, but also heaven ; js0eMij iIj'.
signifying the removing of things that are shaken, as of things Hag. ii. 6,
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may Heb.' xii.
remain." 26-
3. All these prophecies particularly alluded to the latter day,
and now, in reality, begin to be fulfilled ; of which the name
itself was a striking evidence ; but much more the nature and
operations of the work. Therefore it was, that the present work
of God began in shaking, both as a preparatory, and an increas-
ing work, for the full and final manifestation of Christ. And
this particular operation was a significant token that God was
about to shake to the foundation, and utterly ruin all the cor-
rupt systems of men, and their false notions of the work of God,
and of the use and end of his creatures.
4. The effects of Christ's first appearing, were far from fulfill-
40
618 APPENDIX.
ing those promises in their full extent ; for in reality, that heaven
which was to be shaken, had not yet been built ; neither did the
appearing of Christ, in the form of a man fulfill the desire of
all nations. But a second appearing was to be manifested in
woman, which completed the desire of all 7iations, by the
revelation of the Mother Spirit in Christ, an emanation from the
eternal Mother.
5. For, as in the natural order of man, the desire of all nations,
which is glory and perpetuity, is completed by the female ; so
also, it is in the spiritual order of Christ ; the desire of all
nations for glory and immortality can only be completed by the
female. But, though all nations have looked for the Messiah,
or divi?ie teacher, to fulfill their highest hopes of happiness,
yet their ideas of the Messiah, or Christ's final coming,
_ , „ and the nature of his work are erroneous, because only
.See i Cor. .
ii. 14. natural.
VI. 1. These various operations continued, with a gradual
increase of light and power, until the year 1770, when the pre-
sent testimony of salvation and eternal life was fully opened,
according to the special gift and revelation of God, through Ann
Lee, who, at that time, was received by the society as their
spiritual Mother; of whom it may be sufficient, here, to state
the following particulars :
2. According to her natural genealogy, she was of the Eng-
lish nation ; born February 29th, in the year 1736, in the town
of Manchester, where she was also brought up. Her natural
father, John Lee, lived in Toad-lane, in Manchester, and was
a blacksmith by trade, with whom she lived until she embarked
for America. By occupation, she was a cutter of hatters' fur.
She was also employed as a cook in the Manchester Infirmary.
By these means she was inured to habits of industry, and was
very frugal and economical. She had five natural brothers, viz :
Joseph, James, Daniel, William, and George, also two sisters,
Mary and Nancy.
3. From her childhood, she had great light and conviction of
the sinfulness and depravity of human nature, which she often
made known to her parents, entreating that counsel and protec-
tion by which she might be preserved from sin. But not having
attained that knowledge of God which she early desired, nor
having any to strengthen or protect her, in the pursuit of that
true holiness which she sought, she grew up in the same fallen
nature with the rest of mankind, and being prevailed upon by
the earnest solicitations of her relations and acquaintances, she
yielded reluctantly, was married, and had four children, all of
whom died in infancy. Her husband, Abraham Stanley, was
also a blacksmith, and lived with her at her father's house, while
he remained in England.
APPENDIX. G19
VII. 1. About the year 1758, she became a subject of the
work that was under the ministration of James and Ja?ie Ward-
ley, and joined herself to that society, who then were called
Shakers. The people of that society were known to be of blame-
less deportment, remarkable for the clearness of their testimony
against sin, the strictness of their moral discipline, and the inno-
cence and purity of their lives and manners.
2. As their light extended to the confession of every known
sin, and to the taking up of a cross against every thing which
they knew to be evil, hence they were endowed with great
power, by which Ann found that protection, which, for the time
then present, was answerable to her faith ; and in all things she
conformed to the rules of discipline in the society, and was bap-
tized into the same spirit ; and, by her perfect obedience to all
that she was taught, she attained to the full knowledge and ex-
perience of those who stood in the foremost light.
3. As the only distinction among the members of the society
was formed according to the different degrees of spiritual light
and power known and felt in each, respectively, and as it was
the faith of the society not to rest short of complete salvation
from all sin; therefore, those who received the greatest light and
power of G-od, were acknowledged as the lead ; that is, the
greatest light of Grod, in whomsover it was made manifest, was
acknowledged, and followed as the lead, without respect to
persons.
VIII. 1. When Ann, by her perfect obedience, had attained
to all that was made manifest in the leading characters of the
society, still finding in herself the seed, or remains of human
depravity, and a lack of the Divine nature, which is eternal life
abiding in the soul, she did not rest satisfied in that state, but
labored in continual watchings and fastings, in tears and incessant
cries to God, day and night, for deliverance. And, under the most
severe tribulation, and violent temptations, as great as she was
able to resist and endure, such was, frequently, her extreme
agony of soul, that blood would issue through the pores of her
skin.
2. By such deep mortification and suffering, her flesh wasted
away, and she became like a skeleton, wholly incapable of
helping herself; and was fed and nourished like an infant,
although, naturally, free from bodily infirmities, and a person
of a strong and sound constitution, and invincible fortitude of
mind.
IX. 1. In this manner she was more or less exercised in
soul and body for about nine years, during which period the way
of G-od, and the nature of his work, were gradually opened from
one thing to another, and the light and understanding which she
received, was gradually communicated to the society, until she
620 APPENDIX.
received that manifestation of God by which the man of sin was
revealed, and through which she discovered the transgression of
the first woman — the root and foundation cause of human
depravity, whence all mankind were lost and separated from God ;
and by special and immediate revelation, she received the Testi-
mony of God against the whole corruption of man, in its root
and every branch ; which is properly, the testimony against
the flesh ; or the testimony against all sin.
2. This testimony, in its fulness, she received in open vision
from the Lord Jesus Christ, who appeared plainly, and clearly
revealed the true nature and work of the everlasting Gospel of
salvation to her. This was while she was in the public prison,
where she was put by the malice of her enemies, through false
accusation, because of the searching light and increasing power
manifest through her. Thus she received her mission by the
heaveanly dove, or Divine Anointing Spirit of Christ in the
order of the female. Her testimony was now increased in such
mighty power of God, attended with the word of prophecy,
and such energy of the Spirit, as penetrated into the secrets of
the heart, and was irresistible, especially to those with whom she
was united.
3. And, from the light and power of God, which attended her
ministry, and the certain power of salvation transmitted to those
who received her testimony, she was received and acknowledged
as the first Mother, or spiritual Parent in the line of the female,
and the second Heir in the covenant of life, according to the pre-
sent display of the Gospel. Hence, among Believers, she has
been distingushed by no other name or title than that of Mother,
from that period to the present day. She refused to be
addressed by the customary titles used by the world, such as
Miss, Mrs. Madam, &c.
X. 1. After Ann was i-eceived and acknowledged as the
spiritual Mother and Leader of the society, the manner of wor-
ship and the exercises in their public assemblies were, singing
and dancing, shaking and shouting, speaking with new tongues
and prophesying, with all those various gifts of the Holy Spirit
known in the primitive Church. These gifts progressively
increased, until the establishment of the Church in America; by
which those who were in the spirit of the work were convinced,
beyond all doubt or controversy, that it was the beginning of
Christ's reign upon earth.
2. The first full and public testimony which was borne by
Mother, against the root of human depravity, was in the year
1770. And the convincing power of God which attended it,
caused the formal denominations to raise and stir up tumultuous
mobs, by whom she was often shamefully and very cruelly
treated ; and was a number of times imprisoned.
APPENDIX. 621
XI. 1. About that time, on the first day of the week, at her
father's house, where the society were assembled, and while in
the worship of God, under great power, the house was beset by
a tumultuous mob, at the head of which was the warden. They
broke open the door, and dragged out Mother, and cast her into
the dungeon of the stone prison, where she remained fourteen
days, without any sustenance except what was conveyed to her
by putting the stem of a pipe through the key-hole of the
prison door, and pouring milk and other liquids into the bowl
of it. This was done by one of the Believers, James Whit-
taker, a young man who had been brought up by Mother
Ann.
2. But, finding in her no cause of accusation, she was set at
liberty, and continued to bear the testimony, as she was moved
and directed by the gift of God, and the generality of the people
continued to reject it, until the testimony ceased in England,
about two years before she received her mission and revelation of
God in relation to America, by which she saw the future increase
of the work of God, and the establishment and glory of Christ's
kingdom in this land of freedom. This she communicated to her
followers.
XII. 1. Accordingly, as many as were able to follow her in
the designed purpose of God, settled their temporal affairs in
England, paid their passage at Liverpool, on the 19th of May,
1774, and embarked for America, in the ship Mariah, Captain
Smith, of New- York.
2. Those who embarked with Mother, were Elder William
Lee, her natural brother, Elders James Whit taker and John
Hocknell, Richard Hocknell, son of John Hocknell, James
Shepherd, Mary Partington, and Nancy Lee, a niece of Mother
Ann — eight in number.
3. James and Jane Wardlcy removed from John Townlcy's,
the same summer, into a hired house, from whence they were
afterwards taken to the alms house, and there died. John Hock-
nell returned to England in 1775, and came again to America,
with his family and others ; and those of the society who
remained in England, being without lead or protection, gene-
rally, lost their power, and fell into the common course and
practice of the world.
XIII. 1. Before they embarked, Mother Ann told the cap-
tain that he should not have whereof to accuse them, except it
were concerning the law of their God. While on their passage,
they went forth, in obedience to their inward feelings, to praise
God in songs and in dances. This offended the captain to
such a degree that he threatened to throw them overboard, if they
attempted the like exercise again. But, as Mother Ann had
put her trust in God, whom she feared, she was not willing to
622 APPENDIX.
i
be restrained in her duty, by the fear of mortals; she there-
fore chose to obey God rather than man, and accordingly went
forth again, in obedience to the Divine influence she felt.
2. At this the captain became greatly enraged, and attempted
to put his threats into execution. But that God in whom they
trusted, and who had sent them to do his will, protected them in
a marvellous manner. It was in the evening, in the time of a
storm; and the ship suddenly sprung a leak, occasioned by the
starting of a plank between wind and water. The water now
flowed in so rapidly that, notwithstanding all their exertions at
the pumps, it gained upon them so fast that the whole ship's
crew were greatly alarmed. The captain turned pale as a corpse,
and said they must all perish before morning ; for he saw no pos-
sible means to save the ship from sinking.
3. But Mother Ann maintained her confidence in God, and
said, " Captain, be of good cheer ; there shall not a hair of our
heads perish. We shall all arrive safe at America. I just now
saw two bright angels of God standing by the mast, through
whom I received this promise." She then encouraged the sea-
men, and she and her companions zealously assisted at the
pumps. Shortly after this, a large wave struck the ship with
great violence, and the loose plank was instantly closed to its
place.
4. Whether this remarkable incident was effected by the vio-
lent force of the wave against the plank, or by some other unac-
countable means, it was then viewed by all on board as a
miraculous interposition of Divine Providence in their favor.
They were soon, in a great measure, released from the pumps ;
the captain, after this, gave them free and full liberty to worship
God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and
promised that he would never molest them again. He was
faithful to his promise, and treated them with kindness and
respect during the remainder of the voyage, and was after-
wards free to declare, that had it not been for these people,
he should have been sunk in the sea, and never reached
America.
5. Thus, after enduring the storms and dangers of the sea, in
an old, leaky ship, which had been condemned as unfit fcr the
voyage, and came very near foundering at sea, they all arrived
c „.„ safe "in New-York, on the sixth of August following. This
See Millen- ' , , , , . P , . ,
niai church account was attested by the captain, and by many witnesses,
p'20' both believers and unbelievers.
XIV. 1. When Mother landed at Nevj-York, she counselled
those who came with her, for a season, to seek their livelihood
where they could find employ, as they were mostly poor, and
had nothing to subsist upon but what they obtained by honest
industry. Accordingly, they were all scattered in different parts
APPENDIX. 623
of the country. Mother Ann herself remained in New-York, in a
family by the name of Smith, in Queen-street, (now Pearl-
street,) where she was treated with great kindness, and con-
tinued there until the spring of the year 1776.
2. John Hocknell, about this time, sailed for England, to
bring out his family and make further arrangements for the
settlement of the society in this country. During John Hock-
nell's absence to England, Mother Ann went several times up
the river, and visited those of the society who resided in the
vicinity of Albany, and was occasionally visited by some of them ;
but still continued her residence in New-York.
3. In the latter part of the summer or beginning of Autumn,
1775, Abraham Stanley was visited with a severe sickness. To
nurse and take care of him in this sickness, required Mother
Ann's whole time and attention. This duty she performed with
the utmost care and kindness, though often at the expense of
great sufferings on her own part. Their earnings now ceased,
and they were reduced to extreme poverty.
4. Abraham at length recovered his health, so as to be able
to walk the streets ; and though he never had been considered as
a faithful and substantial Believer; yet he had hitherto supported
his credit and reputation, and maintained an outward conformity
to his faith. But, on regaining his health, and before he was
fully able to return to his occupation, he began to associate with
the wicked at public houses, and soon lost all sense and feeling
of religion, and began to oppose Mother Ann's testimony in a
very ungodly manner, and urged her to renounce it, and live in
sexual cohabitation, like the rest of the world. She replied,
that she was willing to do anything for him which justice, reason,
or humanity required ; but she would never consent to violate
her duty to God, and endeavored to prevail on him to return to
his duty and be faithful.
5. But Abraham was determined to pursue the course of the
world, and continued his vicious practice, instead of returning to
his occupation, and left Ann to provide for herself. At length
he brought a lewd woman into the house to her, and declared that
unless she would consent to live in sexual cohabitation with him,
he would take that woman for his wife. Ann, with great firm-
ness and resolution, replied, that she would not do it though he
should take her life as the consequence of her refusal.
6. She also informed him, in plain terms, that she considered
his cruel and abusive conduct as a very unjust requital for the
uniform kindness and attention which she had paid to him, both
in sickness and in health ; and said she was still willing to take
the most tender care of him, if he would return to his duty, and
conduct himself as he ought to do; and urged him, in the most
feeling manner, to return to the obedience of his faith ; but all
nial Church
p. 22.
624 APPENDIX.
to no effect. He soon went off with the woman, to a distant part
of the city, and it was reported that he was shortly after mar-
See Miiien- ried to her. Thus ended the connection between Mother Ann
and Abraham Stanley.
7. She then went, by water, up to Albany, and from thence to
Niskeuna, (now Watervliet,) and about the month of Septem-
ber, fixed her residence where the Church is now established,
eight miles Northwest from the centre of the city of Albany.
This was an obscure place in the wilderness, remote from the
public eye. Here the Believers gathered as their place of resi-
dence ; and here they held their solemn meetings, particularly on
the first day of the week, full three years and a half, until the
opening of the testimony in the spring of the year 1780. At
this time, various reports began to be spread abroad concerning
these people.
XV. 1. The first general opening of the testimony in America,
was at New-Lebanon, county of Columbia, and State of New-
York ; in consequence of a remarkable religious awakening which
had taken place in those parts, in the year 1779, and was a work
of preparation for the reception of the Gospel, which was opened
the following year, (1780,) and received by many.
2. As Mother and the Elders who came from England,
resided at Watervliet, then about forty miles distant from the main
body of those who had lately believed ; and, as great numbers from
New-Lebanon, and other eastern parts, resorted there for instruc-
tion and counsel, the Believers at Neio-Lcbanon, Hancock, and
other places, who were able, found it necessary to take provisions
there for their support, which served as an occasion, to some pre-
judiced persons, to misrepresent and accuse the people of being
enemies to the country, and to stir up those in power to persecute
and distress them.
XVI. 1. One particular circumstance of this kind took place
in the month of July, 1780. As David Barrow was on the way
between Lebanon and Albany, with a flock of sheep, which he
was driving to Watervliet, he was followed by a company of evil-
minded men, who pretended to have authority to arrest him.
Accordingly, they brought him back, with his sheep, to New-
Lebanon, and took him before the court, under pretence of treason.
But, finding no just ground of accusation against him, to answer
their purpose, these ravenous wolves, after dividing the sheep
among themselves, sent their owner, (accompanied by Joseph
Meacham) under guard, to be tried by the commissioners at
Albany.
2. Being brought before the commissioners, they were required
to promise obedience to their laws, without being informed what
those laws would be. But, had the commissioners even been dis-
posed to form laws consistent with the faith of the Believers, they
APPENDIX. 625
well knew that it was contrary to their faith to make any such
promise, because they considered all such outward obligations
as masks of hypocrisy, under which their accusers themselves
were acting in direct violation of those just and equitable princi-
ples, in support of which, they pretended to be contending with
the powers of Britain.
3. Besides, they were aware of the design of their accusers, to
take an undue advantage of such promises, whereby they might
either distress them, or compel them to bear arms and shed
human blood, contrary to their faith. And, as the Spirit of
Christ, which they had within them, both disposed and enabled
them to keep every just law, without any external obligation;
therefore, they could not in conscience answer the request.
Whereupon David Barrow, Joseph Meacham, and Elder John
Hocknell, were put into prison; and, soon after Hezekiah Ham-
mond and Joel Pratt ; and then Mother Ann, accompanied by
Mary Partington, Elder William Lee, Elder James Whittaker,
and Calvin Harlow, all of whom were leading characters in the
work, were arrested and imprisoned at Albany.
4. All this took place at the instigation of certain desiournff
men in the east, who were continually stirring up those in
authority, and other citizens who were otherwise well disposed.
Nevertheless, the commissioners at Albany generally treated
Mother and the Elders with kindness ; and many sensible and
candid men expressed their displeasure at the injustice and in-
consistency of imprisoning and oppi'essing an innocent people for
no other cause, in reality, but their peculiar faith ; and especially
at a time when the nation itself was struggling to get free from
the oppression of a foreign yoke.
XVII. 1. Yet, notwithstanding those outward bonds of afflic-
tion, the Word of God was not bound, but even through the grates
the prison, was preached to crowded assemblies. Many received
faith through the Elders, while in prison, and came and confessed
their sins, " and showed their deeds ; " and such was the convinc- See Acts
ing power of God which attended the Word, that, frequently in xix 18-20.
presence of the crowd, open confessions were made, of every
known sin ; so mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed.
Although the persecutors intended this imprisonment of Mother
and the Elders, for evil ; yet the Lord overruled it for good,
while it wrought effectually to the spreading of the Gospel.
2. Believers were allowed the privilege of communion with
those in prison, and of ministering freely to their necessities.
But, very shortly after their imprisonment, Mother was separated
from the rest, and taken from Albany, accompanied by Mary
Partington, and conveyed down the river, with a design of ban-
ishing her to the British army, which then laid at Neio-York ; but,
her persecutors failing of their purpose, she was landed, and put
626 APPENDIX.
into prison at Poughkeepsie, where she remained until about the
last of December.*
3. The Elders and Believers at Albany, having been released
about the 20th of the same month, without any formal trial, by
order of Gov. George Clinton. This was done as soon as he was
properly informed of the matter. And, on receiving information
from Mother's associate Elders, William Lee, and James Whit-
taker, of her treatment, and by their intercessions in her behalf,
he immediately issued an order for her releasement, having had
no certain knowledge of the affair before. Thus she was released
about the last of December, 1730, and joyfully returned to her
children, to their great consolation. Governor G. Clinton visited
New-Lebanon after the Church was established, upwards of
twenty years after the above circumstances, and mentioned the
event of his releasing "your Mother," (as he termed it,) and ex-
pressed much satisfaction in having done so.
4. It is particularly worthy of observation, that, in all those
imprisonments, and the accusations against Mother and the
Elders, and others of the Believers, both in England and
America, no fault could ever be found, as to their lives and
moral character; nor any evil alleged against them, but from
mere slander, on account of their faith and testimony. Nor was
any persecution ever raised against them, but by means of that
false religion and spirit of oppression, which had long been
established in the British dominions, and whose despotic influence
had not yet ceased in America.
XVIII. 1. It is unnecessary, however, to enlarge on this
subject, or to state all the particulars of the abuse which Mother,
and the Elders, and the Believers in America received on differ-
ent occasions, from lawless ruffians, who were taught by the false
religion of their forefathers, to commit the most scandalous out-
rages upon a harmless people, under pretence of suppressing
error. It may here suffice, simply to observe, that Mother was
the principal object at which their rage was pointed; that during
the time of her ministry, she frequently suffered cruel, shameful,
and immodest abuse, and at times it seemed as though nought
but supernatural power saved her life. The Elders also, were
at times, most cruelly beaten and abused by lawless mobs, with-
* This circumstance was evidently a providential interposition in favor of Mother
It was known by her persecutors that a vessel lay off Poughkeepsie, procuring sup-
plies for the British ; and notwithstanding a pretended patriotism in persecuting
the innocent, lest they should betray their country, they themselves could screen
the known enemies of the country from exposure, and connive with them, with a
view to obtain their assistance in banishing Mother. Thus clearly showing, that
it was not on account of any fears for the country that they persecuted, and sought
to banish her, but that they hoped thereby to get rid of her convincing testimony,
against their sinful lives But, owing to an alarm that the Americans were coming
on to take the said ship, the crew set sail the night before they arrived at Pough-
keepsie, with Mother. And thus were her malicious persecutors disappointed in
their design.
APPENDIX. 627
out the least immoral accusation having ever been substantiated
against them. Others also of the people suffered much abuse,
both in person and property, solely on the ground of their faith
and cross-bearing life.
2. But Mother's testimony was supported, and gained the
ascendency, amidst those scenes of trial and difficulty, which, to
every outward appearance, were insurmountable, and under which
she persevered, unshaken and immovable, with that patience and
fortitude of mind which surpassed all human comprehension.
And, although unsupported by letter-learning, and independent
of man's wisdom ; yet she was supported by that hidden wisdom
and power of God, by which she opened the Scriptures, and the
very nature of things, in so convincing a manner, that none were
able to gainsay or resist the force of her words, upon any principle
of candor.
3. After Mother and the Elders were released from prison,
they again collected together at Watervliet, where they were
visited by great numbers from distant parts of the States of New-
York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New- Hampshire and Maine,
who received faith; and through the power and gifts of God,
which were abundantly manifested for the destruction of sin, and
the salvation of souls, many were filled with joy unspeakable and
full of glory, and increased in their understanding of the way and
work of God.
XIX. 1. In May, 1781, Mother and the Elders left Watervliet
and visited the different parts, from place to place, where the
Gospel had been received ; and in all the principal places which
they visited, they were resorted to from the adjacent parts; and
their ministry being every where accompanied with the gifts of
the Holy Spirit, in searching out sin and purging iniquity from
the soul, Believers were built up in their most holy faith, and
received an increase of that overcoming power by which they were
enabled to keep out of sin, were filled with consolation and peace,
and many were added to the faith. In these journeys they were
much persecuted and abused, by the wicked opposers of the
truth.
2. Having finished their labors among the distant Believers,
they returned to Walervliez, where they arrived in Angust, 1783,
having been absent about two years and four months. On
the 21st day of July, in the year following, Elder William Lee
departed this life at Watervliet, being forty-four years of age.
3. The decease of Elder William served as a particular means
of preparing the minds of Believers for a still heavier trial, in
being deprived of the visible presence and protection of Mother,
the thought of which seemed almost insupportable to many. But
having finished the work which was given her to do, she departed
this life at Watervliet, on the 8th day September, 1784.
628 APPENDIX.
4. Thus, in the early dawn of the American revolution, when
the rights of conscience began to be established, the Morning
Star of Christ's second coming, disappeared from the view of
the world, to be succeeded by the increasing brightness of
the Sun of Righteousness and all the promised glory of the
latter day.
5. And thus the full revelation of Christ, in its first degree,
was completed ; which was according to that remarkable prophecy
of Christopher Love, (who was beheaded under Cromwell,)
"Out of thee, 0 England, shall a bright star arise, whose light
and voice shall make the heavens to quake, and knock under
with submission to the blessed Jesus."
XX. 1. After Mother'' s decease, the gift and appointment of
God, for the lead and protection of the Believers, rested upon
Elder James Whittaker, who was freely acknowledged by the
whole Society as their Elder. Under his ministration, the work
continued and increased, in purging away sin and uncleanness,
and promoting union and harmony among those who believed
and had set out to obey the Gospel, in reproving the disobedient,
strengthening the weak, and confirming the faithful ; till, having
finished his labors, he departed this life at Enfield, in the State
of Connecticut , on the 20th day of July, 1787, being in the 37th
year of his age. He was born at Oldham, near Manchester,
England, February 28th, 1751.
2. Elder John Hocknell (the last of those from Europe who
were called Fathers) survived Elder James many years; and
deceased at Watervliet, February, 1799, being 76 years of age.
3. But, after the decease of Elder James, the leading gift, in
the visible administration, descended upon those who had received
the Gospel in America, and was particularly vested in two,
namely, Joseph Meacham and Lucy Wright, who, according to
the special gift and appointment of God, were known and
acknowledged by all to stand in the spiritual relation of a joint
parentage to the whole visible body of the Believers. Through
their special labors, the Believers were gathered together into
families, according to the revelation of God respecting the Church
of Christ, in the true order of the Gospel, which order was
established in the year 1792. About four years after, Elder
Joseph (having finished his work) deceased, at New-Lebanon
August the 16th, 1796, aged 51 years. He was born at Enfield,
Connecticut, February 22, 1742.
4. Father Joseph was succeeded by Mother Lucy Wright, as
first in the ministry'. Under her administration, large accessions
were made to the different societies of Believers in the Eastern
States, and several permanent societies were established in the
States of Ohio and Kentucky. She having. finished her work,
deceased at Watervliet, Albany County., N. Y., February 7th,
APPENDIX. 629
1821, aged 61 years. She was bora in Pittsficld, Berkshire
County, Mass., February 5, 1760.
XXI. 1. From the beginning of the work in America, in the
year 1780, until about the year 1787, among the subjects of it,
there was little to be seen or heard but the out-cry of convicted
souls, laboring under the power of God, and roaring like the
sound of many waters and mighty thunderings against the man
of sin, and all that is of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life; shaking and trembling; pro-
phesying or speaking with new tongues ; singing and dancing ;
leaping and shouting, day and night ; with such various su-
pernatural effects of the power of God, as appeared to the
blind spectators of this world like the most unaccountable con-
fusion.
2. But suck as were in the work, knew what those things
meant, and felt therein the greatest order and harmony, it being
to them the gift and work of God for the time then present ; they
knew that nothing would be shaken thereby, but those things
that must be shaken out, before the "kingdom of God" could See Luke,
be established in the soul. Hence these operations bore the see'i2c'o,
strongest evidence that the world was actually come to an end, *- n.
(at least to those who were the subjects of them,) and the day of
judgment commenced.
8. But, when they had found a sufficient degree of mortification
and death to the life and influence of a corrupt nature, and sepa-
ration from the spirit of the world, the scene changed, and such,
righteousness, peace, and order followed, as had never before been
established on this earth, since man was created.
XXII. 1. During the progress of this remarkable change, the
testimony was entirely withdrawn from the world. Believers had
all they were able to do, to gather together, and organize the
society in its various branches, and establish the true order of
government, with the necessary rules and regulations for protec-
tion. Therefore, though the men of the world, generally, have
been obliged to acknowledge that the visible fruits were good,
yet the real internal work from which those fruits were produced,
was wholly hid from their eyes. And, though some have
ignorantly tried to ascribe these evidently good effects to some
secret evil cause ; yet every reasonable person must grant, that
an evil tree cannot, bring forth good fruit.
2. Consequently, that testimony which is productive of faith-
fulness, justice, righteousness, and every virtue, in relation to
things both temporal and spiritual, must have proceeded from th£
eternal Fountain of truth and goodness. Therefore, the fruits
and effects of the present Gospel of Christ, are justly to be con-
sidered as a standing evidence of the real character of Mother
and the Elders, and of all those who have been leaders in the
630 APPENDIX.
work, whatever wicked and unreasonable men may insinuate to
the contrary.
3. The testimony was withdrawn from the world about the
year 1785, and was rarely opened to any until about the year
1798 ; after which, there were a few small openings, in different
places, to such as were in a special manner awakened ; but
nothing very remarkable appeared in the order of providence, to
open the way for the spreading of the Gospel, until about the
beginning of the present century.
XXIII. 1. In the year 1801, an extraordinary work of God
began in Kentucky and the adjacent States, which prepared the
way for the testimony of the Gospel to be opened in this western
country, in the year 1805.
2. Accordingly, on the first day of January, 1805, three mes-
sengers, namely, John Meacham, Benja/nin S. Youngs, and
Issachar Bates, were chosen and sent by the movings of the
Spirit and union of the community, from the Church at New-
Lebanon, to the people of the revival in Kentucky and the
adjacent States, and were cordially received by a number of
the first leading characters in the revival, and opposed by
others.
3. A general account of this extraordinary work in Kentucky,
and the parts adjacent, from the year 1801, until the year 1805,
may be seen in a pamphlet published by Richard WNemar,
1807, entitled, The Kentucky Revival; with an account of the
entrance and progress of the testimony, and the opposition it
received from false teachers. Since that time, the work has con-
tinued to increase both north and south of the river Ohio ; and
the testimony has been firmly established in the hearts of many
hundreds in those regions, and the work still continues to
flourish.
XXIV. 1. Since the opening of the Gospel in the parts of the
country aforesaid, the minds of mankind have been greatly stirred
up, both by the way of opposition and inquiry ; and many are
struck with astonishment to see such effects produced by means
which to human wisdom seem so inadequate: i.e. to see so many
persons of good information, and of upright character, and even
eminent for their piety, renounce the honors, riches, and pleasures
of the present life, with all their hopes of salvation upon their
former principles, to find their relation to a people whose faith is
said to be founded upon the testimony of a despised woman.
2. But souls who are truly convinced of sin, and are willing
to have salvation on any terms, will not stumble at God's manner
of dispensing it ; and many such there are at this day, who, like
the tender branch of the good olive, manifest, by their fervent
prayers and tears, under the pressure of an evil nature, that the
summer of their redemption is " nigh, even at the door.''''
APPENDIX. 631
3. Therefore, for the sake of these, and all other honest in-
quirers after truth, the foregoing pages have been written for their
information, with a fervent desire that all such may learn that
"Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ,'''' according to the promises of
God: and that all such may come, that will come, and find sal-
vation from all sin, and strength and power over the pro-
pensities of a fallen and sinful nature.
4. And of this way and work of salvation and redemption,
all the faithful members of the Community of Believers in
Christ's second appearing, are living and practical witnesses,
and lie open to the view and examination of all candid inquirers
after truth.
Approved by the leading authority of the United Society.
... ( BENJAMIN S. YOUNGS,
Attest. j CALVIN GREEN.
March, 1855.
THE END.
LOCATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.
Persons desirous of visiting any of the societies of Shakers, are respect-
fully informed that there are three in the State of New-York, viz: — The
first and largest at New-Lebanon, county of Columbia, 2^ miles south of
Lebanon Springs. — One at Watervliet, 7 miles north-west from the city
of Albany, in the same county. — One at Groveland, Livingston county, 4
miles south of Mount Morris.
Four in the State of Massachusetts, viz: — One at Hancock, Berkshire
county, 5 miles west of Pittsfield. — One at Tyringham, Berkshire county,
3 miles south of South Lee. — One at Harvard, Worcester county, 80
miles north-west of Boston, 2 miles south-east of Groton Junction. — One
at Shirley, Middlesex county, 7 miles west of Harvard, 4-|- miles south-west
of Groton Junction.
One in the State of Connecticut, at Enfield, Hartford county, 3 miles
east of Thompsonsville, and 8 miles south of Springfield.
Two in the State of Neic-Hampshire, viz: — One at Canterbury, Merri-
mack county, 12 miles north by east of Concord. — One at Enfield, Grafton
county, 12 miles south-east of Dartmouth college.
Two in the State of Maine, viz : — One at Alfred, York county, 30 miles
south-west of the city of Portland. — One at New-Gloucester, Cumberland
county, 25 miles north-west of Portland.
Four in the State of Ohio, viz : — One at Union village, Warren county,
4 miles west of Lebanon, and 30 miles north by east of Cincinnati. (This
is the first and largest society in the Western States.) — One at Water-
vliet, Montgomery county, 6 miles south-east of Dayton. — One at White-
water, Hamilton county, 22 miles north-west of Cincinnati. — One at
North Union, Cuyahoga county, 8 miles south-east of Cleveland.
Two in the State of Keritucky, viz : — One at Pleasant Hill, Mercer
county, 7 miles east of Harrodsburgh. — One at South Union, Logan
county, 15 miles north-east of Busselville.
These are all the established societies now existing as branches of the
community, and are easy of access, most of them being located near to
railroad depots.
N. B. Various publications {large and small) of the society can be
obtained at any of the aforesaid places.
16 b 3 4
a i.
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