and Eternal glory happy is he that believes and abides in patience unto the end Now since the dayes of John the Kingdom of God hath been Preached and as many as were ordained to Eternal life believed and many in the day when Christ was manifest in the flesh believed unto whom he declared the mind of the Father and by him was the Father glorified he fulfilled the Law and did many works and miracles by the power of the Father and herein was the Father glorified and them that did believe in him their faith was strengthened and he opened the mystries of the Kingdom of God unto his Disciples and bore witness and prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and of all their worship and said no more at Jerusalem nor at Samaria but the time was coming when they that worshipped the Father should worship him in spirit and truth and declared against the Pharisees righteousness and said to his Disciples Except their righteousness did exceed the Pharisees they could not enter the Kingdom of God and yet the Pharisees performed all the outward things commanded but were in the idolatry and did not believe in the life Now he declared of his suffering many things also how he would go away and how he would come again and would not leave them comfortless but these things were hard to be believed then by his Disciples and further he told them he must be betrayed and suffer and rise again and when the hour was come that he was betrayed when he was with his Disciples even the same night he was betrayed he took bread and broke it and blessed it and said take and eat this is my body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me and after he took the cup and after he had Supped saying this is the cup of the New Testament in my blood as often as you drink it do it in remembrance of me 1 Cor. 11. 23. 24. and Matthew Mark and Luke declares the same and this was reall bread and reall wine which was a representation of that which was to be enjoyed in the spirit and never intended for any further thing but as a figure or a representation of the bread of life and of the cup of blessing which afterward they came to be witnesses of and as oft as they eat and drank they did shew forth the Lords death till he came Now this was practiced among the Disciples after he was risen from the dead and did converse with them at many times and exhorted them and comforted them and instructed them and told them that they should be witnesses of his name unto the ends of the earth and gave them commandment to teach all Nations and Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost and did promise to be with them to the end of the world and told how the Comforter would come and that the Father would send him in his Name even the spirit of truth which was with them and should be in them to be their teacher leader and guide and bring all things to their remembrance Now that which he gave them as a figure and to be a sign unto them of the clearer manifestation of himself which afterward came to be fulfilled and they witnesses of it who grew up in the pure invisible being and did see the mystery through the Revelation of the spirit which did more clearly show unto them the mysteries within the vail for as I said of water it was a sign of a good thing to come so the bread and the cup was also a sign of a good thing to come as all outward figures were but they that did believe and grew up in the faith in the seed Christ they came to see the substance in whom all figures ends in and had communion with him within the vail after he was ascended where he was before now the Apostle he spoke as to wise men judge ye what I say 1 Cor. 10. 15 16. the cup of blessing which we blesse is it not the communion of the blood of Christ the bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ and v. 17. for we being many are one bread one body for we are all partakers of that one bread mark all they that did believe though they were many yet they were one bread one body and were all partakers of that one bread which bread was the flesh of Christ John 6. 48. I am the bread of life and Joh. 6. 51. I am the living bread that came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world Now I speak unto wise men and let the wisdom of God in them manifest judge what I say for where the body of Christ is witnessed and the flesh of Christ known they know that which all the figures ends in the Manna that God gave to Israel in the wilderness they died that did eat thereof which was as pure a type of the hidden Manna as lively a type as bread outward which was but a type of the of the flesh of Christ and both they that did eats the Manna and they that eat the bread outward and drank the cup outward are both dead but he that eat the flesh of Christ and drinks the blood lives for ever and he that eats the hidden Manna hath overcome death and lives for ever and feeds upon the bread of life feeds upon Eternal life Now this is a mystery to the Papists who are idolaters who have sprung vp in the Apostacy though they have Scriptures as it was to the Jewes John 6. 52. who strove among themselves and said how can this man give us his flesh â—o eat and so the Papists who strives about the flesh of Christ and his blood and yet have the Scriptures and they say it s in the bread and in the wine after consecration so they worship the imaginations of their own hearts not deserning the Lords body and have killed thousands and taken away the lives of thousands because they would not confesse their idol to be of God And the protestants they are setting up the bread and the wine and contenting themselves therewith and are making an idol of it and comes not to discerne the body of Christ but one saying he hath a carnall body and another a fleshly body another a mystical body another sayes his body is devided from his members and so speaks out of thick darknesse their own imaginations and hath not communion with the body of Christ neither knowes the flesh of Christ which is the bread of life which is given for the life of the World Iohn 6. 51. And as godlinesse began to work and the mystery thereof in the dayes of Christand the Apostles wherein the Lord discovered much of his wisdom and power
from the heathen and the rest invented in the night of darkness and all that you have is invented trumpery as bad as the heathen all your Crosses Altars Crucifixes your Cells your Lent your Fasts your Feasts your Hair-cloth your Images Pictures your Relickes of dead mens bones your Tythes your offerings oblations obventions your Tapers Beads your holy water your Baptizing of Infants your Purgatory your Praying for the dead your visiting of old Wals and old Tombs and rotten Sepulchres your Pilgrimages your Inquisition all this is come up since the Apostles dayes and thy consecrated bread and wine which thou calls the body and blood of Christ about which idol thou and all that have drunken the cup of fornication and the Beast hath slain thousands of men in your blood thirsty cruelty and all your works you call meritorious they are all dead will be sentenced by the Lamb who is risen to be self-righteousness and so we have found out your visible Church had no being but since the Apostacy since the Apostles dayes and you are erred both in Doctrine and practice and all your Ordination of your Ministers your Schools and Colledges is all in the will of man all this is in the fall in the transgression and under the curse Object Some of the Protestants or reformed Churches so called may say we like this well that you declare against poâ—â—â—y we agree with you in that but we have renounced the Whores cup and have denyed all the powers of the Beast long since Answ. Although many of you Priests have denyed your mother because some Kings and Rulers or Dukes or Magistrates have cast off the yoke and they protect you and give you maintenance yet we cannot but remember you of your genealogy and decent and your doctrine and practice shall prove it and make it manifest and that you take part with the Beast and worships his image and shall be evidenced more and more even before this generation passe away are not you a stem sprung from the same root doth not the fruits you bring forth evidence it and practice demonstrate it if you grant that Rome is Apostized from the faith which the Apostles were in and their practice you must not deny your fathers who made the Bishops and ordained them did not the Pope who ordained you Ministers or priests did not the Bishops who set up your Mass-house with all the Pictures and Crosses in and upon them which you call your Church who established Tythes offerings oblations Easter reckonings Midsumer dues did not the Pope first and them that were subject to his power who invented Schools and Colledges to fit you for the Ministry and qualifie you for the Ministry as you say is not this set up in and since the Apostacy began your set wages your baptizing of Infants your consecrated Bels which the Pope hollowed or his emissaries do not you preach up the letter for the word the letter for the Gospel are not you calling your bread wine a Sacrament which word you have received from Rome your Pulpets your hour-glasses your cushons your black robes long robes fals-Prophet-like your funeral for the dead like the Popes exequies for the dead your devouring widdowes houses and sueing men at the Lavv your haling them to Courts prisons your taking avvay mens goods by force three-fold ten-fold yea is that which you claim and from them that you work not for neither dare you say this was the Apostles practice or any of the primative churches If you say yea all that knowes the scripture or the least of God in them to guid them or to open their understandings they will see you nearly related to Rome and to the Apostates and deceivers and fals Prophets of old and that you are greatly inflamed with the Whores cup and did not the holy men of God speak as they were moved by the holy Ghost and divine inspiration as the spirit of truth revealed it selfe in them and do not you all head and taile deny any such thing to be now and further concludes that its a great errour to look for any such thing then be convinced in your selves you are Apostates and Apostatized from that faith and hope spirit that was in the primative times and now reads old authors it may be 20. or 30. books before you can get an hours discourse patched up to hold you dreaming till the glasse be run dare you be so impudent confident as to say that you â—are not Apostates and are you not followers of the beast and have you not his mark and bear you not his Image do not you count that disorder which the Apostles and the Churches counted order if any thing was revealed to him that stands by let the first hold his peace are not you apostatized from this order cries take him away and yet you would be called Apostolicall well these things being true and obvious enough to behold to any who knows any thing of God I need not say much more in this thing but all wise men will come out from among you and out of Babylon the Mother of Harlots which hath made you and your root and genealogy drunk with her fornication and this is my call to seperate from her and you that are in the apostacy and waite to know the word which was in the beginning and the Gospel which was Preached to Abraham which endures for ever whose joyful sound is come forth in power and great glory which will shake the foundation of your great City even mystery Babylon and not leave one stone upon another which shall not be thrown down and then the holy men of God shall rejoyce and the Saints of the most high shall sing they that have been as sheep for the slaughter shall reign over the earth and shall say The Lord God omnipotent Reigns and let us rejoyce and be glad and he hath taken to himself great power and is coming to gather his Lambs out of your mouths and to feed in a pasture you never saw which was manifest to the Saints in light before you apostates sprang and shall be again when you and all your dark muddy traditions and inventions are gone down into the pit where there is no remembrance Object But it may be the pure reformed Church of Scotland as it hath been called and the old Episcopal and Prelatical Priests of England who hath borrowed their images to set up here will be ready to say we have denyed the whore and the beast and the apostacy and we have pure reformation we have denyed Bishops which was made by the apostate the Pope and now we have settled all things according to the Primitive Church Answ. There never did spring up any deceit since the Apostles or before but it called it self by the best name as for the Priests of Scotland their doctrine and practice is made manifest and their Reformation by their principles which
this worship is in the Apostacy So let all take notice of this compelling causing forcing killing and destroying about worship all they that so do yet are worshipping the beast on which the Whore rides and this is that generation who slew the Lamb and they are of the World and this is the Dragons brood who sought to devour the man-child and this is the Serpents seed and a seed of falsehood who made war with the remnant of the seed of the woman through all ages unto this generation and so all that which is called Christendome is more or lesse under the beasts power and hath his Image even to this day and yet some of them are professing the saints words and imitating their actions who were followers of the Lamb and kept the faith now this that Iohn saw as come in did grow deceivers anti-christs false prophets who were before trouthe Churches at Galatia Corinth and made havock brought in deceit and infected many as Coloss. Pergamus Rev. 3. Sardis Laodicea but now all Nations were erred and gone from their maker their husband and did drink of the cup of the whore and were adulterated from the life faith and power and now worshipped the beast and the whole world went after him there was some of his adultery whordome and fornication in the Apostles dayes and some had drunken then but now Nations kindreds Tongues and people drunk the cup of fornication and now Jesabel who slew the prophets and drunk the blood of the saints she reaches out her cup Kings merchants Noble men great men Nations kinreds Tongues and people were made drunk the man-child sought to be devoured flouds cast out after the woman the saints blood drunk the world worships the Dragon and the beast and his great authority and wonders after him now Jesabel the whore who made the nations drunk she prophesies all the Nations made drunk with her cup of fornication and drinks in all her false doctrines and devised fables now she is as a Queen now the Nations worships after a beast arises she gets upon him and rides she and the beast becomes one she drinks the blood of the saints the beast makes war compells kills being of one mind with the whore none to buy or sell but they that have his mark of his name or at least some of the number of his name and who were not defiled were killed or sought to be killed this is since the apostles days so now we have found the whore her beginning in the Apostacy having lost the faith and power that the Saints were in we have found out the rise of the beast in the Apostacy since the Apostles that all the World wondred after and worshipped Now Rome we have found thy foundation and the beginning of thy rise and sees how thou art elevated we have thee and all that sprang out of thy stock and root betwixt this time and the Apostles and we read beyond thee though thou boast thy selfe of antiquity and glory in thy counsels and convocations for thy proof we have sounded thy bottome I have thee and all the Apostates sprang from thee betwixt me and the Apostles the anti-christs false-Prophets deceivers false Apostles they began they laid thy foundation who went out from the Apostles and denyed the crosse of Christ and the power of God and the Apostle prophesied of their increase here thy visible members began to gather and they went out into the World and the World received them according to Christs saying out of the light out of the power out of the faith out of the life that the holy men of God were in being ravened from the spirit whored from the life they went out in an outward dresse had a shew a form of godliness the Nations received the cup the Kings of the earth the Nobles and the mighty men thou boasts of they drank of thy cup and were inflamed with adultery after thee and then the Nations over which the whoredoms spread kindreds Dominions tongues Nations peoples and become fornicators all became as a sea rolling tossing foming raging casting up mire and dirt unstable reeling then the Kings the great men thy Nobles who were Rulers over the people being drunk with the Nations cup of fornication they sprang up as a great Beast with so many heads and horns and their teeth became as Lyons their feet as Bears and then thou began to ride in the Nations and to sit as a Queen then thou associated thy drunken fornicators together then thou began to usurp authority and then sit as Judge over the heritage of God and of the Saints of the Apostles and of them that kept the testimony of Jesus then thou began to kill and destroy and suck the blood of the Saints and to be drunk with it and then thy Kings whom thou calls converts and Christians having drunken thy cup they formed Lawes and made Lawes to guard thy whoredoms and adultries and Idolatries then they became thy executioners and what thou said was good the Beast maintained and what thou condemnedst by thy Counsels for heresie they became executioners of then came in compelling to worship by the Beast that rose out of the Sea and then thou cryed Hereticks and condemned the just and then thou got a cover thou wouldst not kil but the beast must upon whom thou rides then if there was any that kept their virginity and the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ which was in the Apostles dayes then thou condemnedst them for Hereticks then the Beast compelled and caused to worship but if they would not bow to his image then thy Merchants cries up they despise Governors and Rulers when both thy Doctrine and thy Laws is corrupt then the Beast must kill then he blaphemes the God of heaven and his Tabernacle and then thou saith thou killest none but the beast must upon which thou rides and shall have a whole Counsel to confirm it to be lawful And now thou cals thy self the Catholike and Apostolical Church and thy seat the Apostolical Chair and the Rulers and leaders defenders of the faith Nay we finde thee contrary to the primitive Church and thy seat and Chair is raised up since and thy bed of whoredoms made since and the Kings and Rulers in thy Dominions are become defenders of thy idolatries and whoredoms and are indeed the beast that makes War with the Saints and hath prevailed and truth overcome but he is risen who is able to make war with the Beast and to take the whore and to burn her flesh with fire for he is able to judge her and thy Beasts weapons and thine are carnal but the Lambs and the Saints are spiritual and so thy Doctrine and practice is quite another thing patched â—uffe some brought in from the first Priesthood some borrowed from the Jews as thy Altars thy vestments that thy idolatrous Merchants wear when they celebrate thy great idol the Mass and the rest borrowed fragments