Page images
PDF
EPUB

cation. Myself and Maid, being both strong Believers, the Lord, through Joanna, ordered us to come to her Brother, in Bristol, on the 16th of this month, for ends we should know hereafter. On my arrival, I found Mr. Southcott had an infant Son, who was born the 9th of April, and called John, to all appearance dying in convulsions. They told me, the Child was suddenly seized with convulsion fits, a little before one o'clock on Tuesday morning, and the Child continued to have fits till half past three o'clock on Friday afternoon, when it laid in peace till after the clock struck five, when it expired in sleep. Glom, I sent these particulars to Joanna, and she immediately returned me an answer, which is copied for your Lordship's perusal; and, I think, after reading it, your Lordship must be convinced, fatal would be my end, if I concealed its contents from the world; and trusting the Lord will protect me, if I am obedient, I fear no man, nor any ridicule I may meet with from the world.

I am Your Lordship's humble Servant,
JANE TOWNLEY,

May the 22d, 1804,
No. 9, Trinity Street, Bristol.

N4

DEAR MISS TOWNLEY.

IN consequence of your letter, informing me of the death of my Brother's Son, I was ordered to call to my remembrance the words that were said to me in 1798, when I was first ordered to go to Bristol. After the Rev. Mr. Pomeroy had desired they would send to me, to return to Exeter, and that he would get the ministers forward to search out the Truth, my brother asked me, if I thought the Lord would do any wondrous work when my writings were proved, to convince mankind the calling was from the Lord? To which I was answered, If he had a son, the Lord would do wondrous works. His wife was

[ocr errors]

then pregnant; but to my great disappointment she had a daughter; and so I was disappointed in both. But deeply was it said to me, that my brother would have a son, before the wondrous working of the Lord took place. Now in answer of what you say of the child's death, I was answered in the following manner, by the SPIRIT: "I shall now answer thee of the child's death-three days and part of the fourth he was in convulsions, which left him more than an hour before his death, and he was in peace at his death.-Now I tell thee, three years the convulsions of this Land will last; but as they staid up with the child the third night, expecting to see his end, but yet it lasted great part of the fourth day--just so, I now tell thee, the fourth year must begin from this date before all sorrows will end in your land. And know I told thee, in May, 1802; it would be five years from that time, before this would be a happy land. Now this is one of the years for judgment to this land; in 1805 will be two years; in 1806 will be three years; but as I told thee, in May, it must come to the seventh year to bring it to May, so the child lived till the fourth day, and died the fifth hour, after the turn of the day in the month that I mentioned, and in the very year that I said the signs should be set for judgments. Now if thou couldest remember the words I said to thee in 1798, thou wouldest know I told thee, thy brother should have a Son, when the Truths of thy Writings were proved; and now the very year is come, that I say they shall be proved. He hath a son that suffered convulsions for the nation, three days and part of the fourth, and died in the very month that I said should be a fatal May for Man, if unbelief in them abounded; and now I tell thee, and all mankind, the destiny of the child shall fall on all, that now mock the Coming of the Lord.

That is, the birth of a Son, and the proving the Truth of her Whit ng

The innocent child hath suffered to set the Type for man; therefore, I ordered that she should so hastily leave London, because that they might see the end of the child, that standeth as a Type for your land. But I know the unbelieving world will say, there is nothing has happened to the child, but what is com mon to children. This I grant to be common; but here is a thing that is not common, for thee to be informed, in 1798, of thy brother's having a son, when the wondrous events of thy Prophecies hastened on; and now in the 1804, when I have told thee the events of thy Prophecies shall hasten on, for thy brother to have a son born in the very month I mentioned the shadow of dangers to begin, and to die in convulsions, in the very month that I threatened a fatal month for man. Now let the learned weigh the whole to gether, how thy elder Brother's Son, of the same name, that had been set as a Type for thee, was put in print; and now when all the Signs of the nation were put in print, the Signs of the years, with the Rolling Stone, to roll on from year to year, three years after thou heardest the noise at midnight; and at midnight the child was taken ill, near the hour thou heardest the noise, and then went on from day to day, three days after the noise was heard of the child's first alarm; but did not live through the fourth day, but slept in peace: and so your land shall rest, when all that mock the Coming of the Lord are laid in the silent grave like him; for I have already told thee, and I now tell thee again, I will not spare horse nor rider, but will cut them off, as I cut off the child; for here the innocent child suffered to set the Sign for the guilty world; but as his last hour was in peace without convulsions, so is his soul in peace and rest, where no pain can come near him, in a world of glory. And this will be the happy end of all true believers, that die before the sorrows are over; but as the clouds gathered in, and the heavens were filled with clouds after the child's death,

Oh!

10 the clouds will follow the nation. Here I have given them line upon line, warning upon warning, sign upon sign. And all these Signs and Warnings agree in one. Now let the learned weigh the whole together, and see if this working is common, or could be brought round by any wisdom but the wisdom of a God. I tell them no! they that deny its being from the Lord, must deny the knowledge of a God, the power of a God, and the wisdom of a God, and give all knowledge and power to the devil; and if men rob me thus of my ,honour, I will rob them of their happiness. And this must be sent to all the clergy, to awaken them out of their sleep, and let them see how all these things have come, one after the other, to make the Signs clear before them."-Now you see how the death of my brother's son is perfect like the warning, given me at midnight, with the Rolling Stone, that rolled three stairs down, at Christmas. how doth the Lord condescend to give sign upon sign, and warning upon warning, to prove his calling clear to man; and yet they are blind and will But we must be clear from the blood of all men, and I am ordered to write to you, for you to warn the bishops and the clergy, of the fatal judgments pronounced on them, if they are now careless, and do not search into every truth, to warn their flock of approaching dangers, or the blood of the nation will be on their heads, if the people die in their sins, and the shepherds do not warn them to prepare for the Coming of the Lord. But if you warn not the shepherds, the sin will be on your head, and then your sin will be the greatest, as you will sin through light and knowledge, being convinced the calling is of God; and this duty is required of you to be a faithful labourer in the Lord's vineyard. So I trust, my dear Miss Townley, knowing in whom you have believed, and weighing the whole together, you will not fear the ridicule of the

not see.

same. So let no man boast of explaining my Bible without he can make it true, which is impossible for the judgment of man to do. But now I tell thee F have begun, and i will go on till I have made all my Bible true, which is impossible for man to do by arguments. Therefore men must plead from thy Writings, how such truths have happened; how such mysteries were brought round; how such types and shadows were placed in such manner; and how in years they were brought round to be fulfilled, either from the Devil, or from any infusion that did not come from the infusion of my Spirit. Let this be answered by the wise and learned, how they would prove it from the Devil; or how they would prove it from any Spirit: but from ME, the LIVING LORD, every soul shall know thy Writings are; so let them weigh the whole together with every page that I have mentioned: and here thy book endeth, with this command to the Shepherds."The blood of the nation is on the heads of the Shepherds, if they do not search into every truth; and the sheep that perish in their sins, their blood will I require at the Shepherds? hands, if the Shepherds are not faithful."

When I had written these words I was ordered to open my Bible. It was in the Wisdom of Solomon, vi. chap. and the fourth verse I was or dered to pen-"Because being ministers of his Kingdom, ye have not judged aright, nor kept the law, nor walked after the council of God.”

Here I have faithfully given to the world the WORDS OF THE LORD, as delivered to me; and I am ready to answer to the world for every truth I have here asserted. But the names of the clergy I should not have put in print, if I had not been strictly order ed to it. So I conclude with the words of St. Peter WHO OUGHT WE TO OBEY, GOD OR MAN, JUDGE YE." JOANNA SOUTHCOTT.

London, May 10th, 1804.

Printed by S. ROUSSEAU,
Wood Street, Spa Fields.

[Price Eighteen Pence.]

« PreviousContinue »