Part 9

Upon the Knowledge of these six Principles, depends the eternal Happiness of many. And the Knowledge of the two Seeds, is those two Keys that doth open those two, namely, the strait and narrow Gate that leadeth unto Life, and the broad and wide Gate that leadeth to Destruction. And those two Keys are given unto us two aforesaid, which hath the Commission of the Spirit given unto us.

So that there is no coming unto the Knowledge of the true God, nor the right Devil, but where the Declaration of this Spiritual Commission doth open the Doors or Gates of Mens Hearts, and lets them see what Seed they are of, and so Men come to know the true God and the right Devil. And then a Man may truly say, that he can resign his Will to God's Will, as you say Jacob Bemon in his Writings doth declare.

Yet this I would have you to know that Jacob Bemon had no Personal God at all not to resign his Will unto, but his God was an Infinite, Incomprehensible, Formless Spirit, as all the World hath.

Neither had his Devil a Person nor Form; neither had his Angels he speaketh so much of any Body or Form at all, but they were all Spirits without Bodies, which in the Conclusion was no more but so many Letters, that is, three Letters, G, O, D, and so of the Devil and Angels.

And yet this Man would resign his Will into God's Will, and yet his God had no Form nor Nature at all; therefore they could be no Will in his God, whereby any Man should resign his Will into God's Will; whereas there can be no Will in God, except he hath both Form and Nature.

And this is that Will of God which you call Jesus Christ, into which Estate the Lord did twice bring you, which Estate of yours in that Faith of Jacob Bemon's, could not be a true Estate, because there was not the Knowledge of the true God; and where there is not the Knowledge of the true God, there cannot be the Knowledge of the right Devil; without the Knowledge of these two, there can be no true lasting Peace in Man.

And as for your being a great Disputant amongst all formal Worship, I do not question the thing, because I know that the Wisdom of Reason, which is the Devil, doth love to be uppermost in Disputes.

But how can you say, that the Lord did Silence you, and made you to see the Vanity of all Disputes; whereas you did not know any other God, but what is generally believed on in the World; that is, an Infinite, Incomprehensible Spirit, not minding whether God had any Nature or Form at all.

Therefore it could not be the true Lord that did silence you, but it was something that did arise out of your own Seed, which did shew you the Vanity of all Disputes.

In the next Place you say, that there was brought into your Remembrance that Portion of Scripture concerning his Promise, that he would send his Spirit of Truth, which should guide you into all Truth, and there have you had your rest reposed.

Answer, That this Place of Scripture did not belong unto you, nor to any Man in the World at this Day; for that Promise was given only unto his Disciples; which Disciples of his to whom those Words were spoken, were afterwards made Apostles of Christ; so that the Promise which Christ did promise to his Disciples before his Death, was that of the Blood which was given unto his Apostles, which was called the Spirit of Truth, because they should witness unto the Truth; that is, unto his Death and Resurrection and Ascension.

Therefore take Notice of this, that that Promise was fulfilled upon his Apostles after he was ascended up to Heaven, as you may read in the second of the Acts, and to every Man that doth read the Promises, which God did make to his Commissionated Apostles, it doth not belong to every Man that doth read them, but every Man is to mind that Commission which he is under.

Therefore for you to repose your Trust upon such Promises as was given to other Men in their Commissions, that Peace will not endure to the End, but will vanish like Smoke in the Fire.

In the next Place, I shall give you some Answers to those Doubts, which you spake of concerning that Devil which doth appear to Witches and Conjurers, and how those lying Wonders were acted by John Robins.

Answer, There is a twofold Witchcraft, the one is Natural, the other is Spiritual.

Now this natural Witchcraft is acted by such as are called Witches and Conjurers. Now as for those ignorant Women which are Witches, their Witchcraft lies in their wicked Nature, by giving themselves up to believe, that there is no God at all but Nature only, and so by that strong Faith that they have in Nature, they have Power over those whose Understandings are of a lower Capacity than themselves, and so People being ignorant and fearful of them, doth many times disturb and search their Blood with Extremity of Fear, which they have of one that is suspected for a Witch, and so by their own Fear and Imagination, they come to be bewitched. As a Man being overcharged with extream Grief, or being prevented by one that he loves, he goes Distracted or runneth Mad, which is no other but his being bewitched. And so it is with all those that are ignorant, and over charged with Fear: and as for those Children and Cattle that are bewitched, it is by some other Sorcery which they do use with Herbs and Plants, and some other things of Nature, they having some small Knowledge of that Sympathy, and Influence the Stars have over those Bodies and Herbs, and so mix their Faith and Experience together, pretending to do all Manner of Good, but intendeth nothing but Evil. So that there is no such thing as People do vainly imagine as for Spirits to suck Witches, but all the Devil that is, is their own dark Reason; and that Spirit that doth bewitch any Creature, it doth arise out of their own Imagination: And as for Conjurers and Magicians, their Reason is more enlightened than the others is, because they do go altogether by the Figure, which is an Art by which the Reason of Man hath produced Characters and Figures for the several Stars and Planets, and so they came to imagine the Influence of those Stars and Planets upon the Bodies of Men, and many times they do hit rightly, yet it is still but Witchcraft. For it is nothing else but the Imagination of Reason, that doth pry into the Secrets of Nature. And the first Witchcraft that ever was, it was produced by learning of Numbers and Figures; I say, it was first from the Egyptians Arts, and from thence came Conjuration, and the Knowledge of the Influence of the Stars and Planets and the Knowledge of Physick, which are no other in the Original but Witches, only this their Witchcraft is more tolerated by the Power of the Nations; but I am confident that there is more People in the World bewitched with them, than there is with the other Sort of Witches, that is, they are deceived both in Body, and in Mind, and Estate. For when a Man is deceived in his Expectations and Faith which he had in that Art, he may very well be said to be bewitched: But as for raising Spirits without Bodies, there is no Witch, no Conjurer, or Magician, nor the greatest Artist in the World can do; neither can any Spirit assume any Body but its own. So much for natural Witches.

And for those lying Signs and Wonders which John Robins did act, it was by a more Spiritual Witchcraft; his was not by the Knowledge of the Stars, though he had some Skill in that too, but the Power of his Witchcraft did lye in the assuming and taking upon him the Title of the Great God, as you may read in our Books: And so that his Reason being more exercised in the Scriptures upon Spiritual Matters, because the whole Body of the Scriptures doth consist of Spiritual and Heavenly Matter; and he having more Knowledge in the Mystery of the Scriptures at that time than all Men in the World, therefore he had many that did fall down and worship him; because his Knowledge in the Scriptures, did surpass other Men, and so produced Voices in himself, and could present lying Signs and Wonders, unto all those that were deceived by him, or that where afraid of him; yet he did not deal with Spirits that, had not Bodies; but all that Wisdom and Witchcraft that he did shewn it came or arose out of his own Spirit of Reason, which was inclosed in his own Body.

And there is the Influence of the same Spirit of Witchcraft doth now remain upon those People called Quakers, notwithstanding there seeming Holiness, for they have many Times such fleshly Fits falling upon them, which doth seem as if they had the Falling-Sickness, and be as Men dumb, and will not speak a Word for three or four Hours together, and upon a Sudden they will break forth into strong Language, as if the Spirit did immediately move them to speak. This I say, it is nothing else but an Influence of John Robins's Spiritual Witchcraft, which is produced out of their own Spirit within them, and not from any Spirit which hath no Body without them. And all this is, they have no Knowledge of the true God or the right Devil.

Therefore it is that the greatest Part of the World doth lie under Witchcraft, either a Natural Witchcraft or a Spiritual Witchcraft, there is a very few that is delivered from being under one or both of them; there is none delivered but those that are come to have Faith in this Spiritual Commission, which is now extant in the World; for Faith in it doth lead Men to the Knowledge of the true God and the right Devil, with all those deep Mysteries which doth depend on them, the Knowledge of which doth free a Man from all Witchcraft whatsoever.

Therefore I would advise you to read the Books of ours called the Divine-Looking-Glass, for that you may see there, that there can be no Spirits without a Body, neither can any Witch or Conjurer raise any Spirit without a Body: But these Conjurers may do through the Ignorance and Darkness of Man's Reason, and that Fear and Belief that is in the Ignorant, they may by their ignorant Power raise a Shadow of things, as if they were real Bodies, or Spirits in the Shape of Bodies; as the Egyptians did before Pharaoh King of Egypt, they did seem to raise Frogs and Grashoppers in the Sight of Pharaoh King of Egypt; but I say, they were not real Frogs and Grashoppers, but Shadows of such things, which as soon as ever the Witchcraft Power or Art was over, their Frogs and Grashoppers were gone also, else would the King and his People been as much troubled at those Frogs which the Magicians did bring upon their Land, as they were with those which Moses brought up, which went into their Houses. And now if Moses had not raised Bodies as well as Spirits, or if he had raised Spirits without Bodies, they would have been as little troubled at those things which Moses did, as they were at those Shadows or seeming things, which the Magicians of Egypt did. There is something more in your Letter you sent to me, but I have not time at present to answer; So resteth your Friend,

Lodowicke Muggleton.

The Prophet Reeve's Epistle to his Friend, discovering the dark Light of the Quakers; written in the Year 1654 September the 20th.

Loving Friend, Calling to Mind the Letter thou readest to me, which was sent thee out of the Country, I am moved to present these Lines to the View of thy ponderous Spirit; for as Words of Truth flowing from a real Foundation, drew forth Humility and Love to God and Man, from that Soul that hath received an hearing Ear, so likewise thou mayst know the glittering Words proceeding from Man's Carnal Wisdom, is that which hath occasioned many Men to be exalted above Measure, and to imagine himself so essentially united to the Divine Glory, that at length that Man hath been so bewitched through the Adorations of Men and Women in deep Darkness, with high Conceits of his own Spiritual Wisdom, that he hath been willing to deny his creaturely Condition, and to embrace the Holy Titles and Honour of an infinite Creator. Yea, and to say in his Heart and Tongue also, that there is no Spiritual God or Personal Glory in the least, but what is in Man only, notwithstanding, as sure as the Lord Jesus liveth, both he and all that is in him must turn into silent Death and Dust for a Moment, yea, and would so remain unto all Eternity, if there were not a distinct personal Majesty living without Man to raise him again, to everlasting sensible Glory or Shame, according to the Royal Pleasure of that God, that neither will nor can give his Glory to another.

My Dear Friend, be not deceived with Mens crafty Words, who have no true spiritual Distinction in them; for if any mortal Man have dwelling in him the eternal Spirit, all the Motions, Thoughts, Words and Actions of that Man must needs be as pure, holy and powerful as God himself, because thou knowest they proceed from a pure, holy, and glorious Spirit: But of the contrary, if thou perceivest a Measure of Light only abiding in thee, which thou in Mercy hast received from an everlasting Jesus without thee, then thou often seest Darkness in thee as well as Light. For Light entred not into Sinners to make them spiritual Gods one over another, but it shined into them to discover their natural Enmity continually warring against a God of eternal Love towards them; and not only so, but to prevent also their former Darkness from tyrannizing in them for ever, yea and to consolate their elect Brethren by their spiritual Experiences.

Wherefore, from a Divine Gift which I have freely received from an unerring Spirit, I say unto thee, that those Men which labour to perswade their Hearers, that if they diligently hearken to the Light that is in them, they may attain to such a Power, as to be dead in this Body from all Kind of inward Darkness, Sin, or Evil, have uttered the falsest Doctrine that ever was declared to Men. Moreover, if the Light of Life Eternal be thy Guide, though must needs know then, it was neither the justifying Light of Christ within Man, no nor the Spirit of Christ without Man, that moved those Men to speak or write to the People; but it was their own lying Imagination which hurried them about to beget Proselytes to themselves in the Man Christ Jesus's stead, who alone is God over all Blessed for ever and ever. Amen.

He that is born of God sinneth not, that is he is not left to his own Heart to commit the unpardonable Sin of Unbelief in the true God, in despising the Spirit of Christ Jesus, to be the only Lord God of his Salvation. He that believeth shall be saved, but he that believeth not is condemned already, not because he hath not believed in a God, or Christ that is within him, but because he hath not believed in a personal God or Christ that is without him, whose divine Majesty is crowned with such immortal bright burning Glory, that if he did not vail his fiery Nature within his own blessed Body, the Glory of it is so transcendently infinite, that he in a Moment would consume all created Beings to Powder. He that committed that Sin of calling God a Lyar, which is the Sin of not believing in our Lord Jesus Christ as aforesaid, or he that maketh glorious Pretences of unfeigned Love to Christ and his tender-hearted People, and yet secretly lyeth under the Power of carnal Filthiness; such a Man is not only of his Father the Devil, (cursed Cain) but he also is a very Devil himself. He that saith he hath no Sin in him, is a Lyar, and the Truth is not in him; that is, he that saith Christ is so powerfully risen in him, that all Motions, Thought and Desire of Sin against God or Man, is perfectly done away, that Man is an horrible Lyar, and a deadly Enemy to all humble and broken-hearted Saints; for their natural rebellious warring against the Light within them, and the Lord of Glory without them. Oh! my precious Friend, for whom my Soul spiritually travelleth, till thou art firmly established with glorious Things which are Eternal; not with empty Notions proceeding from an imaginary God or Christ within Men, only which with Syrenion Songs is very pleasing to the carnal Ear, which may delude some undiscerning Spirits for a Season, nor with Pharisaical Looks, Sighs and Groans, to be seen of Men, which is nothing else but the Effects of Mens crafty Words and Gestures proceeding from Man's fleshly Wisdom, which is abominable in the Sight of our God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ in the Eternal Heavens above the Stars.

My beloved Friend, give me leave a little to reason with thee, about Things of the greatest Concernment: What excellent Truths above other Men hast thou heard from the chief Speakers of the Quakers? Didst thou ever hear them speak to the Purpose? Or speak at all of any God or Christ, but what is in Man only? Or didst thou ever hear them speak of a bodily Glory and Misery to come sensibly to be enjoyed by the Saints in the highest Heavens, and to be endured by the Serpents in this World at the Day of eternal Accounts? Or dost thou see the Image or Likeness the true Jesus in that Ministry, the true and living Jesus, rejected not the Company of Publicans and Sinners, even when his Light appeared not in them; but on the contrary, do they not rashly condemn those Men that soberly oppose them, and shun the Company of those that are not of their Opinion, as Serpents; much like unto those Hypocrites of old, who said, stand farther off, for we are more holy than you. Moreover, in all their Speakings and Writings to the People, do they not make a grand Idol of the Word Light, and occasion Men to worship it as their only God; as if meer Words, were to be adored without a Person, or worshipped within the Bodies of sinful Man as a God: Or as if those that enjoy true Light in them, have such a Measure of God in them, that they stand in no need of any God without them in the least.

My Dear Friend, thou knowest Men of unstable Spirits, Child-like, or rather Fool-like, are easily taken with every Wind of Doctrine: But if thou hast a Spirit of true discerning in thee, thou wilt be made thorowly then to try the Spirits and Doctrines of Men, whether they be of God or no, before thou embrace them; having been in the Fire of the Devil already, I hope thou hast gained Experience. Wherefore for thy clearer Sight concerning of the Fallacy of all Speakers, which say, the Lord Jehovah, or Jesus sent them, I shall give some discovering Characters; he that saith the everlasting spiritual God or Father, became not a perfect Man of unspotted Flesh, Blood, and Bone, was never moved by the Spirit of God or Christ, to preach or speak to the People; or he that saith, that Spirit which is dwelling in the glorious Body of Christ Jesus, is not the alone everlasting Father, God and Man in one distinct Person glorified, is none of Christ's Messenger; or he that saith, God is not in the Form of a Man, but is an infinite Spirit essentially abiding in all Creatures, that Man is a Lyar, and the Truth is not in him; or he that saith, Christ's Godhead died not in the Flesh, and did not quicken and raise his Manhood to Life again, and in that Body of Flesh and Bone, did not ascend into a Kingdom of Glory in another World, the deep Things of God is utterly hid from that Man; or he that saith all Mankind proceeded from the Loins of the first Man Adam, is ignorant of the two Scripture Seeds (namely) the Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent, therefore he is none of Christ's sending; or he that saith Mens Souls do not die with their Bodies, and sleep together in the Dust of the Earth, till the Lord Jesus by the mighty Power of his Word speaking only, do raise them unto Life again at the last Day, that Man is in deep Darkness, not knowing the Scriptures or the Power of God; or he that says Mens Bodies only perish (and not the Souls) will be saved at the last, that Man is a Lyar, and the Truth is not in him.