appear at all in my words or expressions concerning those enslaved creatures And thus trusting to my God and desiring his holy and blessed assistance withall intending a publick good as I spake I have thought best for the more clear manifestation of this mystery of iniquity to lay it down in several particular operations and workings according to my knowledg and understanding therein and that observing altogether this order 1. Laying down the Mystery or Work it self 2. Shewing what ground or colour Satan findeth out for the same in Scripture-words and instance 3. In giving my own once uncomfortable experience and testimony unto the said Works 4. To give in the way and manner of the teaching of the Spirit of God to each particular in its place Although I am ignorant whether the Lord hath drawn forth the heart of any man in all the Regions of our Gospel-professions to write and speak against this subtle archievment of Antichrist or no yet in this me thinks I am conscientious to my self that there is hardly a man to be found that hath been so much ensnared as I have been and delivered through divine love by reason whereof I am best able to give the truest demonstration and for ought that I do at the present know this might be one end in the Lord to suffer me to wade so far in that troubled Sea that I might afterward give an experimental testimony of the great danger and trouble thereof for the sake of others that they may learn to beware the same danger Faelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum Praemonitus praemunitus If Dives being in torment parabolically seemeth to discover so much natural affection as to desire his brethrens timely admonition and caution it would be a strange thing and miserable if any of the Lords servants should want what such a one should have while the law of nature teacheth us to be Alteri quod nobis that to another which we would have another be to us These considerations make me willing to use my best endeavour for a full and profitable unfolding of this secret work with all possible plainness and fitted language for the meanest capacities and so to return unto particular Demonstrations Demonstrat 1. It must needs be the spirit of Antichrist and delusion A misinformation of the understanding that doth misinform the heart and so maketh it judg amiss of things for the soul being possessed with an understanding of any thing accordingly discovereth it self while it is sincere and void of hypocrisie and by reason of this wrong information it proceedeth to wrong judgment disowning and condemning what it ought to own and approve and contrariwise owning and approving what it ought to disown and condemn This base deceit doth Antichrist bring forth in the hearts of those people called the Quakers who are so clearly mistaken in judgment that they call evil good and good evil knowing not what they say nor whereof they affirm they do judg the ways actings and practices of all people to be abominable Antichristian and unjust except their own and above all people do they cry out against and disown such who by the world are reproached and disowned as the Church and Disciples of CHRIST But I need not speak of the mistake in them in order to other people while I have so clear a testimony thereof in relation to my self for however I may be ignorant what is in the hearts of some others yet I cannot be altogether ignorant of my own because the spirit that is in man knoweth his heart and manifesteth the hidden things thereof 1 Cor. 2.11 I have been charged and accused by Letters from several of them First of Hypocrisie My own first charge was Hypocrisie now the Lord knoweth and I my self know how hatefull a thing hypocrisie dissimulation and double dealing both with God and man hath ever been unto me even in those days while I lived onely in the light life power and gifts of the first Adam And therefore knowing my own heart in this thing to be free I do clearly apprehend them to be mistaken and to judg with unrighteous judgment which a knowing man will confess to be of Antichrist Secondly they charge and accuse me for acting against my own conscience meaning my living For acting against my own conscience dwelling and preaching constantly unto a particular people in a publick meeting-place this they say is against my own light and convictions of heart as though they knew my conscience better than my self hereby do I see again they are acted through delusion and mistake for they urge that with confidence such as it is which I can with much more confidence and boldness in the Lord deny and justifie the the contrary hereof for I do with much peace of minde and that in the Lord I bless him for it preach that part of the Gospel which I have received from him unto this people with much tenderness of affections and out-goings of my heart towards them as they are my witnesses and it is noted and observed by this people generally I do not say how much more by my self that I am carried forth to speak unto them far more powerfully from time to time and more prevailingly upon their affections and understandings since I did freely knowingly and considerately in publick manner renounce Tyths than ever I did before Now let any sober man observe by what power these creatures are acted while they charge me with doing this against my conscience and light seeing the Lord qualifieth me more and more for the work and attends it with greater blessing Thirdly they charge me with being an Enemy to the Lords people meaning themselves I suppose I confess they are the Lords creatures To be an Enemy to the Lords people but how to call them in their present Apostacy and delusion properly his people I know not yet as they are his creatures I hate them not for I have not so learned Christ but rather to love and to desire to do good in my place unto all but to shew the world their great delusion and mistake in this I have had something from divine grace always working in me while I was not under this temptation of theirs an holy tenderness and honorable respect unto all that which I could discern to be the work of the Father through his Son upon the hearts of any people in whatsoever form they walked And I am perswaded the Churches of mine acquaintance in all countreys where I have been to see observe the work of God among them will witness on my behalf in this thing for this thing they did and I hope do still love tender me although I never did walk with any of them in their Church order since I came forth of Legalism Yet notwithstanding I am able to speak this truth from my own heart which is better known unto me than any of them and beside the testimony of
The Worlds Wonder OR THE QUAKERS BLAZING STARR WITH An Astronomical Judgment given upon the same from 2 Cor. 11.13 14 15. Proving them to be altogether deluded by Satan both in their judgments and walkings Together with a probable conjecture of the end of the World and the estate of things in the interval By EDMUND SKIPP Preacher of the Gospel unto the People at Bodenham in Herefordshire Matth. 24.24 There shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect LONDON Printed by Henry Hills and are to be sold at the Sign of Sir John Oldcastle near Py-corner 1655. To all those who are willing to hold fast the Faith of the Gospel and to be guided by the Truth Grace Mercy and Peace from God the Father and the Lord JESUS CHRIST TWo things have much moved my affections unto this Work following 1. The one that herein I might shew an humble acknowledgment of love unto the Lord who delivered my soul from under those obscurities which would utterly have disabled me from being good to my own heart or others 2. That I might herein become a means of staying and directing many an unestablished soul to beware of those horrible Delusions and mysterious Deceits which I have in this ensuing Treatise with as much plainness and brevity as I judged convenient demonstrated for the sake of all who are unacquainted with these Apostacies and are willing to search out untill they gain an establishment in the knowledg of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus For it would have been great unworthiness in me if when I was brought so experimentally to the knowledg of these unheard-of ways of Satans deceiving the hearts of poor Creatures under fair pretences and glorious shews of righteousness and doing great signs and wonders I should have concealed from my generations such things that were never yet manifested in such a manner The writing of common experiences either of good or evil operations would neither have been an incitement to my Pen or my Readers attention but having an extraordinary understanding in an extraordinary apparition of a prodigious Comet whose beautifull scintillations make all the World to wonder what might be her fate I durst not for fear of wronging my own conscience but put my Light like a Candle upon the house-top that so it might be seen into all the Regions of Gospel-professions manifesting unto them that this Monster amongst men or this unnatural and unparalleld Planet promiseth nothing but Vae misero mihi sadness and loss of all the riches of Gods grace unto every soul that liveth under its malevolent and contagious influences My Book will expound my Allegory therefore I leave my Readers to that and rest Their Servant in the Gospel-service Edmund Skipp To the Reader COurteous Reader I have here presented thee with a little Tract as my New-years Gift unto thee and must desire thee to carry a favorable aspect in thy judgment towards it and me although thou maist finde it unpolished and void of such a method and eloquence of words as thou mightst judg would better have become me and it as well as many an acute Genius that shall honor it in the reading But give me leave to tell thee truth I have had but a fortnights time to begin and finish these lines which time I have through much difficulty borrowed from my other Studies and Employments and they are now calling upon me for a recompence with double diligence which hath been so little that I have not had time to write any one line from the first to the last twice but am necessitated to send forth these Conceptions of mine thus Embrio-like into the open view of the world and therefore I desire to receive from thee what I shall be willing to give unto thee or any other in the like ease a candid censure desiring also for thy good that thou maist have an heart more ready to receive sound judgment from it than to give a wrong judgment upon it I rest Ever willing to serve thee in the Lord Edmund Skipp From my Study at Bodenham this New-years day so called in the year 1654. The Worlds Wonder OR The QUAKERS Blazing Starr A sensible Discovery of some high and spiritual Delusions wrought by Antichrist in the hearts of of many poor Creatures and especially those that go under the notion of QUAKERS BY that power which bringeth good out of evil it cometh to pass that afflictions fallings back temptations overwhelmings of the soul with a deluge of spiritual troubles dejections and disconsolations are many times profitable and teaching to the hearts of the Lords sincere ones who are kept by himself through faith unto salvation and they are laid in as so many several advantages and as it were Land-marks to direct the soul in the perfect paths of peace that they turn not aside either to the right hand or to the left so that it may make the children of the Most High admire his continued faithfulness in his love and watchfulness manifested in their behalf while they are run a whoring after their own inventions Satans deceivable transformings of himself into glorious appearances words and actings If a reasonable heart should but digest it self into a methodical observation of the Lords Law of Retaliation Lev. 26.14 to 34. and correspondent dealings unto the standings and fallings of his creatures it might be overcome in the apprehensions of that great patience long-suffering and gentleness of the Lord to Apostates and unstable-minded people who have itching ears carried about with every winde of Doctrine But to the end he may gain himself a name in Judah is he pleased to wait upon poor sinners to be gracious unto them and to suffer many of them to fall to be tempted to be darkned with cloudy and obscure apprehensions of the eternal being that so their weakness and his strength their nothingness and his all-sufficiency their sluggishness and his watchfulness might more clearly appear in their proper place and to make good his former word and practice in gathering his servants together out of all Lands whither they had been scattered in the dark and cloudy day And surely were it not for the hopes of some such glorious and wise end that the Lord doth now intend in the fulness of time to make known amongst the sons of men it would minister cause of most unspeakable sorrow unto such who are established in the faith of our Lord JESUS CHRIST to see so many forsaking their faith and former knowledg and profession of the truth and instead hereof believing lyes 2 Thess 2.11 1 Tim. 4.1 and giving heed unto Doctrines of Devils walking according to the suggestions of the Prince of Darkness and every foolish idle fantastical imagination of their own deceitfull hearts These things do apparently teach the world to see how vigilant that great Enemy of mankinde
Darkness and Valley of Death Fourth Rule is the manner of the Teaching of God and his holy and blessed Spirit The fourth Rule in Demonstr 3. about this thing First where as they compare their sufferings and Agonies with those of CHRIST and say they must suffer the wrath of God and the like as he did and yet reckon themselves the servants of the Lord the Spirit of God will prove this to be a horrible Lie and delusion because that CHRIST suffered for his servants and bore the wrath and curse of God for them and made satisfaction to his Fathers Law and Justice in his own Bloud and his Father was pleased to accept it and so forth indeed it is true of the damned that they shall undergo the eternal wrath and justice of God upon their own consciences because they refused to believe love and obey the will of CHRIST concerning them and made known in them that so they might have had the benefit of that sacrifice which Christ gave unto his Father for the sins of others But this is not true concerning the Lords faithfull ones and that any judicious man may see by these ensuing testimonies of Scripture Isai 53. all that Chapter Reade O ye people all this blessed Truth and give your mindes to believe and by believing it let your souls love him that did so much for the sinfull sons of men and in loving of him give him up willing and chearfull obedience which if you shall continue unto the end your souls shall know in the testimony of Truth what this Scripture is worth and you shall be able through the witness of the Holy Spirit of Promise to say and prove it is a most devilish Lie and delusion to conceive that any who are one with God in Christ shall undergo the wrath of God in that manner that they speak of by this they make the Death of Christ of none effect Reade also about this matter the ninth Chapter to the Hebrews and when you have weighed it see whether it can stand with the Lords Justice to call any of his servants to hear so in their bodies and spirits as they do his Justice and exact Judgment untill he have wrought out of them his own satisfaction recompence in that nature But if Satan shall teach them a point of Sophistry and make them say they do not undergo this Wrath and Torment for Satisfaction but for Sanctification yet it will be a Lie and delusion that way for the Spirit of the Lord when it sanctifieth the hearts of his servants doth not go about to tear their hearts out of their bodies and their flesh off their bones in that nature And although it be compared and many times called Fire in the Scripture it is rather from the work wrought than from the manner of its working and therefore the Holy Spirit is compared unto Water Isai 55. John 4. And the Apostle saith concerning the Corinthians 1 Cor. 6.11 that they were washed from their former transgressions by the Spirit of the Lord by which seemingly contrary expressions an impartial man may judg that the Spirit of the Lord worketh sanctification in the soul in a blessed sweet moderate and peaceable manner First as it is a Light so it discovereth unto the soul the dangerousness and ugliness of sin and the unpleasingness thereof unto the Lord. The manner of the Spirit sanctifying the heart Secondly when it hath thus discovered it it bringeth the soul to a disliking thereof it begins to take away the affections and the delights of the heart from it Thirdly in as much as the Spirit of the Lord is called a quickening Spirit it doth raise up the soul to the contemplations of heavenly ways and duties wherein the Lord would have his people to walk and engageth the heart to love them and so in an holy blessed alluring manner stealeth the heart away to God who in the manifestation of that Spirit of Light is made appear to the soul more lovely excellent rich satisfactory and the like than all those former things were they riches or profane pleasures wherein the soul delighted it self before herein I appeal to the witness of such who have tasted of that Spirit hence it is that the Lord is said to allure his Church and to speak kindly unto her and you shall finde how blessedly the Lord speaketh unto a back-sliding people the worst of all sorts upon their returnings unto him Hosea 14.4 I will heal their back slidings I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from them Me thinks if the Lord would have used such fiâ—e and fagot like burnings upon the hearts and consciences of any people for to have sanctified them withall it should have been upon such a people as these are But to end this which the Saints know by experience and most others by report to be true I shall turn over all that reade my Book unto that Parable of the polluted childe in Ezek. 16. from the beginning to vers 15. where you shall finde both the Lords purpose for acceptation of that polluted Babe and his powerfull operations for its sanctification in vers 9. and others Moreover if they shall urge Davids complaining that his bones were broken and his flesh would scarce cleave unto them and how he had no free part in his body and the like It is far from me to think that this was under an apprehension of wrath or that his soul did now bear the weight of Justice for its transgressions or so for David had long before said and known that the Lord was wont to cover the sins of his people and not to impute them to their charge and therefore he calls them blessed Psalm 32.1 2. and from this conifortable Doctrine of free forg veness and acceptation he concludeth his Psalm with this Be glad in the Lord and rejoye O ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart for as he saith in the beginning of the next Psalm Praise is comely for the upright so is a chearfull spirit upon this account I rather take Davids complaining thus to be for want of his communion with God as he seemeth to teach in that word Thou hidest thy face and I was sore troubled I am sure the soul that hath had sweet communion and refreshment with and from the Lord in the want of this will complain heavily as you may finde in Psalm 42. throughout And by the Spouse running so earnestly after CHRIST when she had lost him Cant. 3. in the beginning And this made her cry out she was sick of love for Christ. Was it not the want of the continued enjoyment of that extraordinary apprehension of love and glory in the presence of God that made Paul complain 2 Cor. 12.7 and suffer temptation which he calleth a messenger of Satan Shall any man think that he suffered this for his sanctifying Nay will you now in the last place
of I take literally according to our computation of time The binding and chaining up of the Devil I take to be such a powerfull and blessed appearance of God in the hearts of his people who shall through the teachings of himself be brought to such an holy Conformity and Uniformity both in affection judgment and walking that Antichrist shall not be able to break in upon them to delude or entice them or the like but they through the glorious and in dwelling of God in their hearts shall be able to resist all the deceivable ways of Satan that he will be as it were no Devil at all unto them he will be as though he were tied with a Chain or cast into a I le not able to hurt or wrong any of them as now he doth Now this thousand years being taken out wherein the Church of CHRIST shall thus triumph over him and conquer him there remaineth but three hundred and fifty or there about which must likewise be divided into two parts one part must be for Satan to go about into all the corners of the earth to deceive and beguile the people again v. 7 8. at the exspiration of the thousand year after the manner as now he doth in my judgment and so to bring them into a state of apostacy which he cannot do probably under an age and a half or two ages for we see in our own experience there is no ground error or superstition sucked into the hearts of a people or rooted out under an age and an half at least and therefore I think he must have such an allowance as this for to bring an universal apostacy into all the earth before its destruction and if you shall allow him but an hundred and fifty years for this then there wil be but even two hundred before that thousand which is but a short time in comparison of what he hath had ever since he first beguiled Eve with the forbidden Apple and therefore no marvel he doth so bestir himself now and finde out new and more dangerous ways This is my present apprehension concerning the ending of the World and concerning that mystery in Rev. 20. Si quid novisti rectius istis Candidus imperti si non his utere mecum Question 2. In order to the people themselves called Quakers Peradventure some are inquiring seeing they are so exceedingly deluded and such a dangerous people what course should be taken by them whether it were best to imprison them or banish them or the like In my Answer hereunto I shall direct my speech unto two sorts of people First unto the common sort of people I do hear and believe it is true that the ordinary sort of people in all Countreys and Towns whither these poor creatures come do abuse them very much and beat them and despitefully use them I do not conceive that this is the right way to deal with them neither can any good ground be given for this kinde of usage of them seeing they come to places in a peaceable manner pretending they come for the peoples good and me thinks it is great inhumanity to use any people so uncivilly that come so civilly and withall they speak nothing in that nature but what their hearers themselves must confess to be true reproving them sharply for some unjust and unrighteous actings or other or for some carnal and secure conditions wherein they live c. And therefore I would counsel all such people to whom they shall come in this kinde to take a right way of opposing them which is through a strong knowledg and understanding of the Scripture to reason with them and to prove them fairly according to the rules of the Scripture and such rules as I have here given you in my Book to be those deluders and deluded people that are spoken of by Christ and his Apostles and upon that account neither to own them nor their Doctrine This is the warrantable way of the Gosple and I think I may be bold to tell you this for your encouragment that if you shall stick up closely and unanimously to this way you will finde the Devil a very Coward according to that word of St James Resist the devil and he will fly from But if any of you shall say that you are not able to deal with them in this nature they are too full of knowledg and you are not so well acquainted with the Scriptures as they c. I fear it is too true as you say but is not the fault your own Hive not you Bibles as well as they How comes it to pass that you are so empty of knowledg in the Word of God but for want of diligent reading and meditating in the same And therefore I would counsel all men both Preachers and people to be hereafter better armed against them for I suppose you will be more troubled with them than you have been and indeed when you have done all this your natural attainments of this kinde will prove too short to deal with them by therefore by all means laber father and feek to gain the spiritual armour of Christ Jesus which you shall have from him if you will receive him John 1.12 and hearken diligently unto the voice of God calling you and do not stand still and rest your selves satisfied in your ignorant and carnal conditions but remember that word Ephes 5.14 Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light yea and power and strength also to overcome the assaults of Satan and you must pray with all your might unto the Lord to furnish your souls with his grace and holy Spirit that you may be able to stand fast in such perillous times Secondly I direct my speech unto the civil Magistrate and desire him to consider what he doth to these people I hear they are from City to City and Countrey to Countrey persecuted and imprisoned by you but by what Law of yours I know not I do not hear that they do transgress any of your Laws by sinfull and unrighteous actings if they should I shall give my consent they might have double punishment if they do not I would have you forbear them and see that they have not greater grounds to speak against your abominations than you have to punish them I fear because they tell you your own many of you they turn your Patience into Passion and from thence rather than from any Principle you have to do justice you act against them for if you were generally men possessed with a zeal to do justice we should not have such abominable and crying sins calling at the Throne of God for justice against such injusticers as many are If you will not believe the Truth because it comes from them yet I hope you will believe it as it comes from the mouth of God Isai 1.23 24. Thy Princes are rebellious and companions of Thieves every one loveth gifts and followeth after