ing to them, whom they do no work for! What greedy dumb dogs are these! how do they worry the people! and where is there any one of them, that has the sheep's clothing, if the people do not put into his mouth, but will tear them into courts, and dens, and prisons? How unlike the apostle are these, who would not use his power often times to eat! and thyself art found in the number of them. And do not the states and particular men set you out so much a year for your preaching? and is not this preaching for hire, and divining for money? Do you not know how much a year you must have? and is not this preaching for hire? And if they do not give you money, so much a year, you will not divine, and yet will you make people believe, that you are not diviners for money, and preachers for hire? alack for ye! you cannot be hid, and are not you here judged with the life of Christ and his apostles to be his hirelings that will fly? whose sheep are none of your own, who care not for the sheep, except you make a prey upon them! To all people who are in the fear of God, your lives are discovered to be contrary to the saints. Let the states and the great men take away your maintenance, and we shall find but few diggers, thrashers, and planters among you, who are a company of idle men. So the judgment of the apostle is come upon you, that those that would not work, should not eat.

P. Christ made use of the scripture to resist the devil.'

A. In Christ the scripture ends, and the devil who was out of the scriptures is left out of the scriptures: so Christ, who was before scripture was, bruised his head. And as for the rest of thy stuff in thy book, it is not worth mentioning, and it will come upon thy own head; the witness in thy conscience shall answer it.

Edward Skip, teacher, who said that he is a servant in the gospel services, his book called The World's Wonder. His principles, as followeth.

P. WHO saith there shall be false Christs, and false prophets, and they shall show you great signs and wonders, insomuch, if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect.'

A. Christ said false prophets should come, Matt. vii. 24. and John saw they were come, 1 John ii. and iv. chap. they went forth from them. In the Revelation all that dwelt upon the earth went after them, and when they had gotten a head, they killed the saints; then power was given to the beast over all tongues, kindreds, and nations, and that

which whored from the spirit of God sat upon the beast, and all nations drank of her cup, and she hath corrupted the earth, and made the inhabitants drunk, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. And the woman fled into the wilderness, and the man child was caught up unto God. And the whore sits upon the waters, and the waters are people, and nations, and multitudes, and tongues, and these have been the mystery of Babylon, with all their merchandise, which have deceived the nations by their lying signs and wonders. And again, the judgment of the great whore should come, the man-child should be brought forth into the world to rule the nations with a rod of iron, and she should be taken and cast into the fire, who had set as a queen, and had seen no sorrow; and the beast should be taken, and with him the false prophet that sets up the lying signs and wonders, and with him the devil that deceived the nations, the man of sin, that the apostle before his decease saw coming up, as in Thessalonians. These should be taken and cast alive into the fire, (and the Lamb and the saints shall have the victory,) that they should deceive the nations no more; for the elect it is impossible they should deceive, with all their lying signs and wonders which they have got up since the days of the apostles. And Christ said they should come, which the disciples saw were come before their decease, which signs the world have been after, but which have not been able to deceive the elect; for the elect reigns over all that, and over thee and them: amongst whom thou art found. Now hath the Lamb and the saints the victory, and the tabernacle of God is with men.

P. I have presented to thee my new-year's gift, and desire thy judgment towards it to me.' And thou said, 'The Lord had delivered thy soul from under those observances that thou mightest stay and direct an unstable soul of those horrible delusions and mysterious deceits, for false apostles, translating themselves into apostles of Christ, deceitful workers, and satan's ministers, transforming into the ministers of righteousness!'

A. In this thou art among the false apostles and ministers of unrighteousness, deceitful workers, transforming yourselves into the apostles' and Christ's words, and into the true ministers' words, whose souls are under horrible delusions and mysterious deceits, under the observances of the world, who would beguile the soul that is not stablished; but light is broke forth, that few you can deceive. And thy new-year's gift is judged, and proceeds from Cain, and is his sacrifice from the earth; for the apostle saw such as were transforming themselves into the false apostles and false ministers, and he brings the saints to the light that shined in their hearts, to give them the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus,' which you

deny. So the false are transformed into their words, and are judged with their spirit, who brought people to the light within, and you bring them from it; so, from that which should give them the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.

P. The devil is called the prince of darkness, because he lives in the darkness, as to the apprehension of divine love, an enemy to all the image of God, which is light and purity; and the devil transformeth himself into the likeness of God, under a fair pretence, heavenly words, self-denial actions, righteous conversations.'

A. This is like your fruits, who have deceived the people; but is your love to the devil, who is out of the truth? doth not Christ come to destroy him and his works? and can any apprehend the love of God, but they who are in the truth? And the devil cannot transform himself to be like God, not in his image nor in his righteousness, that is out of truth; and his conversation that is out of truth is altogether unrighteous, and is but in the pretence of self-denial, but is not the thing; though he and you may get the words that are heavenly, and stand against the light and image of God, and purity itself, for all you are of the devil that deny the light that doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, for you come not into the truth which the devil is out of, nor into the pure conversation which is in heaven, nor into purity.

P. Thou saidst, thou hast many occasions offered by the Quakers upon thy poor weak and sinful heart; the Lord hath filled my heart with moderation in giving my own once uncomfortable experiences.'

A. We believe thee, that thy heart is weak and sinful, and a weak and sinful heart is not filled with moderation. And thy experiences which are uncomfortable, are not the experiences of the saints, for the saints' experiences are comfortable, and their hearts are pure, and filled with moderation; and the Quakers will torment all sinful and corrupt hearts, for such the Lord is against, that take his words into. their mouths, and so are his saints.

P. Thou sayst, thou hatest hypocrisy when thou livest in the light, life, and power of the first Adam, and because the Quakers say they know my conscience better than myself, I see they are acted through delusion; I am able to speak this truth from my own heart, which is better known to me. I do know that a natural man may make a large progress in the gospel profession and conversion; and that which the Quakers call backsliding, is my turning to my God.'

A. In the light, and life, and power of the first Adam, in which he was in the beginning, before the fall, thou art not; and the apostles knew the state and condition of Jews, and Gentiles, and people, better than they did themselves, and so do the Quakers that

are in their spirit; and this is not delusion. And thou dost not know thy own heart as thou oughtest, nor the truth; thou must first come to the light that doth enlighten every man that comes into the world, which is the truth. And a natural man doth not make a progress into the gospel, nor come into the conversation of it, whilst he lives in the natural estate. And the God thou art turned to, is the god of the world, that all hirelings and diviners for money, and teachers for filthy lucre turned to, that went forth from the spirit of the apostles, and prophets, and Christ, and backslid from them, and so went from the true God; and thou servest the god of the world for love of thy benefice, and see if thou wilt not look upward, and downward, and curse thy god.

P. 'I would have all the world to observe the Quakers, how that antichrist hath cast that blindness upon their understandings, for their reproving men sharply, and rebuking them, crying wo to the hypocrites; it is the devil's policy to keep close to the scriptures. G. F. used arguments to people to look for the glorious way, and discovery of the divine light and power to be brought forth among all the children of the Most High. Oh! this delusion of mystery Babylon.'

A. Here is thy confession, for where the spirit of God is, it doth rebuke, reprove sharply, and tell them that are hypocrites, the wo is to them; and as to the Quakers, antichrist cannot blind them, they are come from under his power and authority; but you are they that cannot hear reproof. And the Lord may send a man, as he did Philip, to such a place, and he not know what he shall do, nor whom he shall speak to, till he come to such a place. And the devil is out of the life that gave forth the scriptures, though he and you who may get them, may pervert the words, but not own them as they speak; and thou callest good evil, and evil good, for the children of the Most High wait for the most glorious discovery of divine light and power, which delusion and mystery Babylon are out of; and so the Quakers are come to that which antichrist is ravened from, with that they comprehend him. P. And thou sayst, These people, that thou callest the Quakers, will send most railing accusations against the pillars of the church of Christ.'

A. That is false; but antichrist's church and his pillars, which are waters, which you call tongues, your original, and which John calls waters, the Quakers do judge according to truth, and declare it in full power and majesty, and can make it good; which you call railing, but which they deny; for a company of greedy dumb dogs can never have enough, that will prison and persecute men till death for speaking to them and for means; such are apostatized from the true church, are a false church, who have transformed themselves into the true church's

words. But now the true church hath discovered you to be the false, apostatized from the true, who have reigned since the days of the apostles.

P. 'I see no conviction the Quakers have wrought by their speaking, or any subjection of fear or love, or any such thing wrought by them. And to tell such that are praying, reading, or in meditation, to say it is the power of the first Adam; Oh! mystery of deceit, the deceitful unfolding of antichrist, to say that Christ saith the hour is coming, and now is, that neither at this mountain, nor at Jerusalem, shall the Father be worshipped, but he that worships him, must worship him in spirit and in truth!"

A. Thousands in the nation may witness the work the Quakers have wrought, and thousands are convinced that you are the gainsayers of the truth, and the antichrist come up since the days of the apostles; and all your praying, reading, and meditations, is but the first Adam's state in the fall, where the mystery of deceit is, for you are not yet come to own the light, Christ Jesus, the second Adam, that doth enlighten every man that comes into the world, and so you are the antichrists, standing against Christ the light, the truth, and so are not come into the worship of God in the truth and in the spirit, but are crying up that at your mass-houses is God worshipped, as the Jews said of the temple at Jerusalem, and the mountain of Samaria; but Christ said, not at the mountain, nor Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth, and so we say, not at your mass-houses, nor at Samaria, nor Jerusalem, nor the mountain, but God hath sought us to worship him in spirit and in truth, and therefore you rage that hate the light.

P. They reckon it their perfection and happiness to be deprived of all: the spirit doth neither so act or so teach: and I was kept from this temptation, and they that are overcome by it, are brought into bondage. A vain deceitful waiting for a power, when the apostle saith to the Thessalonians, ye must pray without ceasing, and not quench the spirit. They must cease from their own words, and wait for the immediate striving and working of the spirit, as they fancy it.'

A. This thou calls fancy, who sayst the spirit of God doth not teach men, to be deprived of all things; yes, I say to thee thou must be deprived of all things before thou come to happiness; and thou art in the bondage, and in the temptation, that hast not forsaken all things, and come to Christ the one thing; and thou praying and prophesying, and not waiting for the spirit and power to pray withal, art in the fancy, and following thy own spirit, and out of the perfection of Christ.

P. It is blasphemy to say we must fill up the sufferings of Christ.' A. And so thou art unlike the apostles, and hast not drunk the cup VOL. III.

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