These are those merchants of the letter of the Scripture, that make the blind nations their prey; these are those ravening wolves that come in sheep's clothing; these are those dumb dogs in spiritual things, that bark at true prophecy and heavenly revelation, that a man declares by commission from the Lord Jesus; these are those that the apostle Paul complained on in his time, that bewitched the people to turn from the spiritual gospel to the legal form, who began by the apostle in the spirit, but were deluded by false hypocrites to be made perfect in the flesh; these are of those hypocrites that were in Christ's time, who, under pretence of long prayers, devour widows' houses; these are those hyprocrites that are always teaching of God what he should do for his own glory, when indeed it is their own glory, in lusting after things that perish, they desire when they thus pray, or preach, or prate; these are those bloody hypocrites, and workers of iniquity, that the Lord Jesus will never own because he never sent them.

СНАР. Х.

Of all Prophets, or Priests, or Ministers in this World, being false, not knowing the true God; therefore not sent by the God of all Truth, the Man Jesus.

AGAIN, I declare by revelation from the Holy Spirit, that there is no magistrate in this world, that bears the name of a Christian, that hath any authority or commission from the Lord Jesus to set up any visible form of worship whatsoever, to compel the spirits or consciences of men to bow down to his image, that he hath set up for his own glory, because

ever since the Lord Jesus ascended into his glory, he alone is the teacher of all his elect by his holy spirit. It is truth, in the time of the law, before God became flesh, there were many magistrates and priests commissionated from the Lord to set up and to declare the true worship of God unto all Israel, and it was death by the command of the Lord, if the people despised to yield obedience unto it, because it was the Lord's worship, and not man's worship, set up from his own lying imagination, that would be a God, but he is a devil, for his creating of a worship to deceive the people without a commission from the Lord, and by taking the prerogative power and glory of God to himself, who will not give his glory to another, as it is written; therefore in the Revelation, the dragon there spoken of is the imagination of the beast, and the beast is the body of the magistrate, wherein that dragon Imagination liveth; and the false prophet there spoken of is the magistrate's priest, and the image of the beast is that false worship set up by the imagination of the magistrate, and the serpent counsel of his false prophet or priest, to deceive themselves, and the people with them; therefore it is written, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life, of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; that is, all reprobates, both rich and poor, shall bow down unto that false, idolatrous worship set up by heathen magistrates and their heathen false prophets, the national priests, who call themselves christian magistrates and christian ministers, and are blindly called so by the people also; and yet both of these devils together persecute with the sword of steel all spiritual christians, under the name or title of blasphemers, seducers, heresy, deceivers of the people, and such like, be

cause the spiritual christian cannot bow down unto that carnal, anti-christian, formal worship, set up by those carnal magistrates, and their carnal ministers beforesaid, who, being both lovers of the glory of this world, loving to be honoured as Gods, for that cursed heathenish idol-worship from their own invention, set up to deceive themselves, and those appointed to damnation with them; wherefore the dragon magistrate, and the false prophets, his serpent ministers, that committed spiritual fornication together, and all those of their own spirits, shall every one of them, in the day of the Lord's vengeance, burn in their spirits and bodies together as a lake of fire: those spirits and bodies that they shall appear with in the resurrection, shall be that lake of spiritual fire and brimstone, that, by the decree of the Lord Jesus, shall burn together to all eternity; this is that giving her own blood to drink, who eat up the innocent as bread, and thought they did God good service in shedding of the blood of the Lambs of Jesus, as their forefathers did; then will these scriptures be fulfilled, and those mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring them and slay them before my face; and go ye cursed into everlasting fire; and the carcases of the rebels shall be cast out, where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out; and tophet is ordained of old for the king; that tophet is the body of man, and that king is the spirit of unclean reason in man; for behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, and ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall do this,

saith the Lord of Hosts; fill ye up the measures of your fathers, ye serpents, ye generation of vipers ; how can ye escape the damnation of hell? for he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy; but the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, whoremongers, and sorcerers, or astrologers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Again, the bloody persecutors beforesaid, instead of feeding and clothing the hungry saint, quite contrary, they do not only take away the food and raiment of the Lord Jesus, in his elect innocent lambs, but they crucify the Lord of Life afresh, in the shedding of the blood of his believers, because they yield obedience to the spiritual law of faith and love, or command of the Lord Jesus, either by prophesying or writing, or speaking the truth by command from the man Jesus, who is the only spiritual magistrate and minister unto all that are appointed unto eternal glory with him, in that glorious creation of that new Heaven and new Earth above the stars, when this creation beneath the stars is utterly destroyed, and fitted only for persecuting dragon-serpent devils to lament, howl, and weep to all eternity upon this earth, where the saints by them were put to grief for

要

a moment.

CHA P. XI.

Of all Heathen Magistrates, and their Heathen Prophets, false Worship or Image.

BUT some may say unto me, do you not allow of the civil magistrate to govern the rude people? To this I answer, the magistrate is very needful in every inhabited land, for the government of the people in all civil things, to do equal justice between man and man. If such a magistrate could be found, it would be a rare thing. Again, I declare from the Holy Spirit, although the magistrate be but a heathen ruler, as he is; wherefore Christ said of this magistrate unto his apostles, the kings or princes of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them, are called benefactors, but ye shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger: yet I say from the Lord, the magistrate beareth not the sword in vain, but he is a type of the true spiritual magistrate, that can do nothing but equal justice between the just and unjust, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore all men ought to yield obedience to the civil laws of the magistrate, either by executing of his laws, or by patiently bearing the curse of the law upon their own persons, leaving all vengeance unto God, or else they rebel against God, and they are in danger of an eternal curse, because the government of this world, and the glory thereof, belongs only unto the wise and prudent heathen magistrates in this earth, who are the very sons of Cain, that old serpent dragon Devil, that