Experience propose to the Lord the Treachery and Abomination of any one else And concluded not to propose to Him any thing but what should proceed from an humble Heart wanting to be satisfied And in this Resolution she hath been Confirm'd by the Lord himself who spake to her in this manner I am Holy therefore let every one that cometh to Ask of me examine himself well whether he be likewise of a clean Heart And if not let him not think that I should visit him in my Word to Answer him For this end hold thou to Me for I will not that thy Righteous Soul should be importuned by the impure Wretches of this World Go out from their Abominations and receive not any thing at all from them For I am the LORD Nay even those who love Me if they come not to me in a Child-like and Humble Heart they shall not be heard by me Let every one that dareth to lift up his Eyes toward me come himself to me with his Heart and not by Letter and I will answer him willingly and will not shut him out I go before in Love For hitherto have I spoken in patience but they would make an ill use of it and would make thee to sin without thy knowledge Break then the Cords and suffer not thy self to be bound and take nothing from them but only from such as are true-hearted and humble Such will I hear when they complain and will answer when they enquire not out of Curiosity Now although the Lord will not Answer such Curious Enquirers and She Sanctify'd and Purify'd in the Blood of Christ will not admit of such like Questions yet nevertheless He was the very same day so Good as to give us that which follows Courage My SION thou dear Shulamite shalt now go suddenly forth out of Babylon I will give to thee the Wings of Righteousness that thou mayest fly away from the Abomination of Babel Thou shalt have no Communion with her that so thou mayest not be polluted For I will have thee to be clean and without Spot I will cloath thee with the Saphir and will Crown thee with Righteousness For thou hast been rudely treated and thy Wounds have been very bad but now it is all over For the Vine beginneth to put forth its Branches and I take pleasure in my Bride for she is become lovely in my Eyes Therefore will I deck her with Light and Glory without measure and she shall find that I deal kindly with her Let then the Babylonian Wicked insult over you with all their might Be ye not dismayed hereat I am your Buckler your Defence and your Armour and with Justice I cover you as with a Garment I the LORD am arming my self to fight for you with a Mighty Arm For now is the time that Light and Darkness must be separated from each other that so SION may dwell before Me. And verily the Cherubs with Thrones and Principalities are in Array to Fight for Sion against Babel But take this in a right Sense The Battel is for the sake of Sion's Spirit that her Cause may be strengthn'd and made certain and that there may be a Separation from the Works of Babel For this end it is time that ye watch and stand upon your Guards Night and Day For I come and do sound all the Depths And therefore I witness thus and will witness in all Languages and Tongues and will pour out my Spirit largely and adorn my Bride as to the Marriage-feast yea as to the Triumph She shall cry aloud for Joy and magnifie my Name aforehand When all this shall be transacted before in the Spirit then shall the Decree or Curse come forth against Babel And Sion shall then be as an Armed Man and I as a Roaring Lion against Babel and all her Abominations And then shall the Jdugment be revealed and come forth Wo to you ye Earthly-minded Men when I come Of whom is that saying true That I shall not find Faith upon the Earth But Blessed are the Simple and the Children for unto such doth the Kingdom belong Therefore be still rest in humility and fear not for I am before you Again I say Blessed are the little Children for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven Yea yea Amen! say I the Lord of Lords the God and Saviour in the Spirit of these Children Wherefore study that you may become like to them and so shall ye be made all Light Rejoice ye for the Victory is to Sion XXXV Before I consider the Questions I shall from some Passages of holy Scripture succinctly prove that God never declar'd it to be his Will that there should be no more Apparitions or Revelations after our Saviours Ascension but that on the contrary he hath given express Promises in his Word that before the Dreadful Day of the Lord he will send forth his Scribes Learned in the Kingdom of Heaven his Wisemen and Prophets for a Warning to the World and for an Encouragement to his Faithful Servants Neither have we any room for Doubt as to the Divinity of these Visions and Revelations if once it appear that the Lord according to his holy Purpose and Will doth really and according to the Rules laid down by Mr. Fabricius Superintendent-General of Pomerania in his Discourse * De Probatione Visionum of the Trial of Visions give to his Children in all Ages of the Church such Manifestations as these Of which the said Author has Collected together a great number of Examples from Approv'd Fathers Doctors and other Writers XXXVI That God therefore will for that he may if he will I suppose there is no Divine will deny grant such like Apparitions and extraordinary Revelations I prove first from the Prophet Joel Chap. 2. of which take this brief Account Now that the Contents of this Chapter have never yet been Accomplish'd since the time of Joel will be put out of all Dispute The time in which he Prophesied is not express'd but however certain it is that it was before the Captivity of Babylon Let us then see whether the Prophesie contain'd in this Chapter can have had its fulfulling either in the Calamity which the City of Jerusalem and the People of the Jews suffer'd by Nebuchadnezzar or in that other brought upon them by Titus Vespasian Now it is certain by these Verses viz. 1 7 9 and 11. that when this Chapter must have its Accomplishment then Mount Sion must be in a good Estate and the City of Jerusalem with its Temple be standing Moreover in ver 2. a Day which is call'd the Day of the Lord is describ'd as a Day of Darkness and of Gloominess of Clouds and of thick Darkness And this shall herein consist that a mighty and strong People of whom there has not been ever the like neither shall be any more to all Eternity shall come upon Jerusalem as the Morning spread upon the Mountains Now that this cannot be said
make my Love to be known for as much as I have heard them and my Heart loveth them for evermore Amen But as Slanders encreased more and more we were again stirr'd up and encourag'd in this manner Peace be with you Fear not for my Mercy shall never be removed from you neither my Love shall at all cease for it surpasseth every breadth and every heighth so exceeding great is it wherefore it 's fit that it should make it self seen and heard in all Corners and in all Places for it is therefore risen very richly upon you and advanceth forward in Might And I say once more that when I shall come and do a new thing and deliver the Prisoners of Sion then this Love shall shine forth and be revealed with power Be not then afraid O my Zion nor be thou cast down O my Ephraim for thy Towers shall be built up and I will beget my self in thee Be joyful therefore since all my Prophetical Words I maintain and do according to my Everlasting Purpose For this cause shout for Joy O Daughter of Sion And play thou Ephraim in the Cymbals and Dances Shout for Joy ye Heavens the Work of my Hands and let all the Sons of God give a lusty shout yea all those that call upon my Name and all those that are faint and cast down let them be joyful for the Glorious Day of my Appearance in which I will together with all the Faithful both those who live and those who are faln asleep Reign Triumphantly over my Enemies This is what I wait for now be ye therefore joyful for my coming For Lo I come and rule with Might in that Kingdom and no Body dare resist me for it is the Day of my Marriage wherein I will drink with you of the new Fruit of the Kingdom Wherefore rejoice ye and sing aloud for this is my Word of Truth XXIII 1. Our mutual Love encreased and we became one Heart and one Soul With this Brotherly Love these Friends were stirred up to come and speak with us yet they could not do it without they were certain it was God's Will Which having waited to know they receiv'd according to their desire this gracious Answer Make your selves ready to go along in Simplicity and Silence to my Faithful Servants whom I love I will be with you and my Love shall guide you Be ye therefore of one Mind in the Spirit and go thither in Charity for as much as ye now know my holy Will Live contentedly and fear not for I fight for you and my Truth is your Defence and Buckler 2. This brought us Joy and Blessing Our House too like that heretofore of Obed-Edom was blest in such wise that being far from wanting any thing we were from their Presence laden as it were with Divine Blessings succeeding one another and especially with many gracious Testimonies by which the LORD animated us after this manner I the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob declare to thee the Truth and Hope in which the Fathers have hoped Yea yea I witness it even I the true and faithful Witness the First-born from the Dead that thou maist bear witness of the Truth of my Kingdom for it is a true Kingdom a Kingdom nigh at hand to you Yea yea it is certain I come suddenly Turn ye neither to the right nor to the left all ye who know my Truth and rejoice in the Faith I embrace you all with my Love and I say Be ye happy and praise my Name 3. And soon afterward we receiv'd also this Holy Revelation from the Riches of his Goodness Dear Friends whom I have brought together and whom I have sanctified to my self Peace be with you My Countenance is over you and the Light of it shines upon you in much Love Arise therefore lift up your Voice to me in my Praise Be not terrified for I am in the midst of you and lead you according to my Hearts desire Be ye of one Mind and hold fast one to another for I am with you and bless you for ever I greet you all with my Love and press you to my Breast and declare to you that the Light is risen and the Dawn of the Glorious Bridal Day begins to spread The Bride rejoices for the Nuptial Day the Turtle Dove lets her self be heard the Day breaks forth the Morning Star gets up the Children of the Father make merry together and my Bride is full of Joy and to her a Golden Shield is given to defend her against the Darkness which also breaks forth in its Fog The Dragon Arms himself with those who belong to him why should I not then Arm my Bride and let her see what she is to enjoy The Day-break must go before and Antichrist must behold how the Light rises up against his Darkness Cry therefore aloud for Joy ye blessed for you shall be gloriously Armed against the Wicked for I am your King who Conquer the Kingdom I come suddenly Amen XXIV 1. My Wife in the Humility of her Heart and in Faith besought the Lord by the Elect Maid that he would reveal in what Church we are at present since according to His own Explication the Seven Churches in the Revelation do set forth Seven successive Periodical Communities To which Prayer the Lord was pleased to Answer thus Peace be with thee How should I be displeased with thee that thou speakest before me For I am very Charitable toward thee Hear then my Word thou little Dove Lo the Church of Laodicea fighteth powerfully against the Beast and that of Philadelphia in which you are at present ends gloriously with Spirit and Power in the Believers And this Church shall compleat that which I have chosen and to it shall be the Gathering together of the Peoples that Believe This I witness that thou maist in like manner witness that it is true Farewel 2. Upon the Thirtieth of March MDCXCI there came this following dear Testimony Peace Happiness and Salvation be with you O ye Elect whom I have taken up into my Eternal Communion whom I my self have for my pleasure hallowed in my Eyes Give ear then ye beloved and blessed of me The Bride is for my pleasure Everlastingly hallowed and is in each one singly by me purified and preserved Happy are ye who live in this present day All that have been Rebellious must return to their Duty and all that have gone astray will I bring home again with Joy But as for the Virgins they are pure they are cleansed and set apart they are Redeemed to be my First-fruits that so they may be the first to open the Matrix therefore are they nearest to me for they are Redeemed from among Men they are the Sap and the Balm which gets vigorously above the Old and breaks the Matrix in the New-birth And these being made Perfect who among the Daughters shall be liken'd unto them She the Virgin Bride shall be a Lioness and
words Look here my Brother it is I who do it that I may accomplish it even so as I have purposed to do it And if I be thy Tower and thy Fortress who is he that can offend thee For this reason set up now thy Standard in my Name for I will destroy them when I awake up but I will be with thee and with thee will I fight against the Enemies yea yea it is I who do it therefore be thou joyful in my strength and let nothing hinder thee from doing it for I am the Lord thy God who accomplish this thing my self Amen 2. As the Calumnies yet more and more encreased against me I received still further Comfort of which this word of Testimony that follows is an Instance Be not wearied in patience thou blessed One even as I am not wearied However as for the Implacable them I will cast out into Darkness But have thou a good Courage and be not faint in the Profession of my Truth for one Day thou shalt be Victorious and having obtained a glorious Conquest shalt then Feed upon the Fruits of thy Labour Therefore be thou refreshed in my strength which shall be given to thee in abundance 3. In the same Month I received of the Lord another powerful witness proceeding from the freeness of his Grace which pierced me into the Soul and Spirit yea into the Marrow and Bones as may easily be imagined by any one who shall but-weigh the Circumstances which accompanied the same my Wife and I in Company with the Blessed Maid and with her Mother and Sisters whom we could not leave alone in the House took a Journey to Lubeck to set in order all my Affairs in which by the Decease of my Father from hence by reason of my holy Function I left my Wife and these good Friends at Lubeck and returned Hither by Post I arrived here upon Sunday and the very same Evening at Six a Clock I was filled with such a Divine Joy that came upon me as an Armed Man as in all my Life I had never felt the like though my dear Heavenly Father by the sweet Call of his Mouth has oftentimes put into me Life and Gladness In this Joy I had a Fore-taste of the Glory of the World to come and saw in a Moment that which God hath prepared for those that Love him by the means whereof my Heart was so Enlarged that I thought my self strong enough to throw down Walls and Pillars but there happening to be some Strangers then at the Table I concealed this Joy as much as ever I could till that it was impossible to hide it longer and then I began with a Voice of Jubilee to Sing Sion heard the Watchmen Sing Her Heart inflam'd with Joy does spring She wakes she rises strait and hastes away Her Friend comes down in Glory Bright Rich full of Grace of Truth and Might Her Morning dawns her Star proclaims the Day Come now Celestial Crown Dear Jesu God's Eternal Son Hosanna Into the Joyful Court we follow all And Celebrate with Dance and Festival The Happy Nuptial Day Hallelujah The same a little Paraphras'd Hark hark from Salem's Tow'rs the Watchmen sing The signal of the long-expected King And Sion's Courts with loud Hosanna's ring See how with eager Joy all Hearts around Tremble and dance to the Melodious Sound She shakes her from the Dust she flies all Gay To meet or to prevent the Glorious Day In solemn Pomp her Joy from Heav'n descends Him mighty Truth and ev'ry Grace attends She sees her beauteous Morning-star arise And bright Aurora Purpling round the Skies Now come Dear Glorious Crown Lord Jesu come And lead us to our long lost wisht for Home We into the Inmost Court all follow Thee The Glorious Happy still Eternity Or thus according to the Letter Sion heard the Watchmen sing Her Heart springeth for Joy She awaketh and riseth up presently Her Joy cometh down from Heaven Gloriously In Grace strong in Truth mighty Her Light breaketh out her Star is risen Now come dear Crown Lord Jesu the Son of God Hosannah We all follow into the Joyful Court and keep the Supper 4. My whole Family observ'd this Joy in me with Astonishment and my Son's Tutor said There must certainly some Great Thing have passed at Lubeck at this very time and that we were now in the Communion of Their Joy This Adventure the next Day I sent by the Ordinary Post to my Dear Wife and the very same Day being Monday she writ also to me by a good Friend what had passed with them at Lubeck in that very same Hour when I was seiz'd with so extraordinary a Joy Which Letter I broke open in the presence of Two Pious Young Ladies who were come thither from Staden on purpose to Visit this Dear B. Maid And having but a Minute before related to them that which had happen'd to me upon the Sunday Evening I read to them these words of the said Letter Child prithee write to me how thou didst find Thy self upon Sunday at Six a Clock in the Afternoon and whether thou didst not then feel in thy Heart a certain Joy For about that time the Lord spake to Thee with so much Affection and so stirr'd thee up as is not by me expressible Of which thou maist best judge from the Testimony that is here sent thee 5. Which I afterward read and is as follows Courage my Elect one Make haste and meet me for I am risen up to come toward thee yea toward thee and therefore come I so lovingly that I may knit my self unto thee For mine Heart is wounded therefore am I so enflamed and therefore am I so very Zealous for thy sake Receive then my Living Breath and Burn thou so that the Fire of it may give a loud and crackling noise And let thy Zeal be such that the Flame of it may break violently forth For I come leaping upon thee on a sudden and I throw down the Mountains with the Voice of my Coming Yea yea Amen! Amen! I am JEHOVAH the Lord. 6. Having read this I was mightily surpriz'd and letting the Two Young Ladies read it themselves they were much Astonish'd at it and Magnify'd God who deals thus wonderfully with his Children As this now for my own part gave me perfect Satisfaction that my dear Saviour was resolv'd by thus raising my Heart in the very same Hour wherein he gave me this Animating Word at the distance of Ten German Miles from hence to Convince me as it accordingly did of the Truth of this Divine Testimony in such a manner as I might not hereafter have room for any Doubt of His Words which should be sent to me at any other time So on the other side my Wife with the rest of our Friends at Lubeck were in like manner hereby strengthen'd and by it fully assur'd even to that Degree as it is not possible to be more that it was the
third place since that to this present day the Captivity of Judah and of Jerusalem is not turn'd away nor all the Heathens judged and much less in the Valley of Jehosaphat Joel 3.2 9 10 11 12. which the 14th Chapter of the Revelations compar'd with the Third of this Prophet ver 13. lays down as a thing which ought yet to come And lastly since the 16 17 18 19 20 and 21 Verses are not hitherto in their power executed namely that Jerusalem shall be Holy and that no Stranger shall pass through her any more but that Judah shall abide for ever and Jerusalem from Generations to Generations It is not to be doubted upon all these Considerations but that God will according to his Promise After that time I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh cause such Visions Prophesies and Revelations as are here describ'd effectually to be in this Latter Time in like manner as he hath by many Powerful Testimonies witness'd to the same by the Elect Virgin and confirm'd us in the expectation of its future Completion XXXVII In the Holy Revelation of Jesus Christ for this ought to be the Title of that Holy Book according to Chap. 1. where it is said That God gave this Revelation unto Jesus Christ to shew unto his Servants there is also found a clear Argument of God's Will that he will send his Two Witnesses Adorn'd with very many singular Powers true Miracles and consequently many Extraordinary Gifts who shall Prophesie Twelve Hundred and Sixty Days Rev. 11.3 c. This is done in the Fifth Seal in which their Companions and they both at the last when they shall have finish'd their Testimony shall be kill'd and after Three Days and an Half shall truly and bodily rise again to the Terrour of their Enemies and ascend up to Heaven in the Clouds their Enemies beholding them Now that this has not been hitherto Accomplish'd is evident in that the Miracles which are here specify'd as for instance That they should go forth in the Power of Moses and of Elias and cause Fire to fall from Heaven and turn the Waters into Blood and shut Heaven for the space of Three Years and an Half as did Elias Jam. 4. to the end it rain not have not been yet seen Besides the Judgment which follows after the Twelve Hundred and Threescore Days is not yet come which shall be at the Second Wo in the Sixth Trumpet After which shall quickly succeed the Third Wo of the Seven Vials of Wrath being the Seven last Plagues in the Seventh Trumpet and shall make an end of Babylon and of the Enemies of God to the glorious bringing forth of a Better Time of which it is said Now are the Kingdoms of the World become the Kingdoms of the LORD and of his CHRIST And also We give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty who art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thy self great Power and Dominion Rev. 11.15 17. Whereas at this time Babylon is standing in its full Vigour therefore the Witnesses are still to come But about the time that Babylon shall be Judg'd the Two Witnesses which are sent by Christ shall before give their Testimony by Prophesies and Miracles according to God's Promise in which his Will is contained That God should do such Miracles as these in the Last Time was both foreseen and believ'd by that dear Man of God Luther who in his Commentary upon the First Book of Moses thus delivers himself (a) Postquam Noah fui diu clamaverunt acccusantes malitiam Mundi ostendit tandem Dominus se quoque illam malitiam videre ulcisci velle Hunc secundum gradum nos quoque Hodie expectamus nec dubium est quin erunt ALIQUI HOMINES quibus revelabitur ista mundi perditio futura Nisi forte ea perditio erit dies novissimus extremum judicium quod sane optamus Et Lat. f. m. 122. a. When Noah and his Sons had a long while Preach'd accusing the Wickedness of the World the Lord at last shews that he also saw the Wickedness and would revenge it This in some Degree we also at this day expect Nor is it to be doubted but that there will be SOME PERSONS to whom this Future Destruction of the World shall be revealed Unless perhaps this Destruction may be the Last Day and the Final Judgment which we indeed do hope And in his Preface upon Amos he says (b) Hic mos est Domino Deo nostro ut quoties insignis aliqua rerum mutatio instat quoties egregium aliquod malum imminet mittat Prophetas suos aut Ministros verbi qui verbum nuncient qui futura mala praedicent ut saltem Aliqui convertantur ad poenitentiam reducantur Tom. III. Jen. Lat. This is the manner with the Lord our God as often as any Signal Revolution is at hand or any notable Evil doth impend to send his Prophets and Ministers of his Word who may Preach the Word and Foretel the Evils that are to come that some at least may be Converted and Call'd to Repentance Also in the German Edition of his Works he hath the (c) Tom. IX Edit Wittemberg Germ. f. m. 268 269 seq Vision concerning the Pope which happen'd in Switzerland to Friar Nicolas Van Felsen and was before written by Charles de Bouillon and he hath made to it a Preface to shew in what manner we ought to make Reflection upon such Signs and Miracles which Christ hath given to the Papacy And do we not also read in the Confession of Ausbourg as in Our Symbolical or Canonical Book the (d) Apolog. Aug. Conf. De Votis Monasticis Prophesie of John of Hilten how that in the Year MDXVI there should come one that should Preach against the Disorder of the Monks which was fulfill'd accordingly in Luther So also the Clergy of Lubeck Hambourg and Lunenburg in their Apology against the Patron of the Revelation of Guthman would not at all declare that they did (e) Part. 1. p. 84 c. 269.297 Simply and Absolutely reject and condemn all Visions and Revelations of these Times Baldwinus confirms the same with these Words (f) Non dubitamus Deum Adhuc nonnullis interdum revelare Futura quae ad Ecclesiae Reipub. statum pertinent in usum hominum annuntianda Comment sup Ep. 1. Tim. 4. p. 251. We do not doubt that God doth yet sometimes reveal to Some Future Things pertaining to Church and State which are to be Declar'd for the Good of Men. There are also other Divines of Authority who assert the same thing whom we omit as being to be found in the aforesaid Fabricius XXXVIII For a Conclusion I shall yet add here one Considerable Testimony which we receiv'd from the Lord by this Blessed Lady this present Year MDCXCI And it is this Dear Friends peace be with you Stir up one another in my Love and give me