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betrayed innocent BLOOD? What was their unfeeling answer? What is that to us! see thou to it! Now, here is the world in its true colours; if they can tempt men to sin against light and knowledge, and afterwards find they have caused their ruin, by so doing, they only mock them for fools. This is the pondering of my heart from Judas; and this would be my case was I to deny the visitation of the LORD, to please the unbelieving world, and conscious guilt begun to awaken me, that I could not bear the reflection of myself. Then the answer of the world would be just the same, and I should have no more comfort from the world now than Judas had; therefore I look upon every one as a Judas to me, that wishes to persuade me to give up the visitation of the LORD, because they do not believe it. PAUL might as well have given up his visitation, because the Jews did not believe him; the PROPHETS might have given up their visitation, because the world did not believe them: and I might as well give up the GOSPEL, because I heard it mocked by the Jews, and they did not believe it. For being formerly in company with six Jews, they brought forward their Bibles to prove our SAVIOUR was not the MESSIAH; as they pointed out the manner of his coming to be according to the SECOND COMING, to be the PRINCE of PEACE, and have the GOVERNMENT ON HIS SHOULDERS. It is fruitless here to pen the Scriptures they brought forward, to prove that the coming of Christ must be in HONOUR and GLORY to GOD, and to the REDEMPTION of MAN, which I granted to be TRUE; but they would never allow, that he must first come to die for man; and the Prophecies that prophesied of his death they would not allow that they alluded to CHRIST; and on being asked what they meant, they answered they were chapters they never understood; and what they never understood they were not to look into. And now I see the Gentiles are just the same.

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JEWS AND GENTILES EQUALLY UNBELIEVING. 223

ask them what is meant by the cOMFORTER being sent, which is the HOLY GHOST, whom the FATHER will send in HIS Name, HE shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remenbrance. Their answer would be like the Jews; if it did not allude to the Holy Ghost being sent to the Disciples, at that time, they did not know what it meant; and as they did not know what it meant, they would not allow that any other should know. So here stand Jews and Gentiles together; and I would as soon rely on the one as on the other; for he that will believe one prophecy and not another, is no believer at all. Now the meaning of the HOLY GHOST, the Comforter, being sent in HIS NAME, cannot appear to me to allude to the Disciples; because our SAVIOUR was then present, and taught them in his FATHER'S NAME, that he was the SON of GoD, which they believed, and received the POWER of the HOLY GHOST, as he promised them; then what new doctrine was then sent in HIS NAME, to teach them all things that concerned HIM? Do not these things allude to the End? Did HE mean his Gospel was only to his Disciples? or, did HE allude it equally the same to the generations that should arise after them, that were true believers in the merits of His death and sufferings, till He had brought in all his Sheep as ONE FOLD? Then if it alludes unto all, HE saith I AM the VINE, ye are the branches; he that abideth in ME, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without ME, ye can do nothing; but HE saith, I will pray the FATHER, and HE shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever, even the SPIRIT of TRUTH, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth HIM not. Here our SAVIOUR plainly affirms, that HIS visitation shall be in the SPIRIT, which no man knoweth, nor no man seeth; but He says, it shall be with you, and shall dwell in you. Now whom can the SPIRIT of TRUTH visit to be

with, and to be in, but those that believe GOD is TRUE, the GOSPEL is TRUE, and that CHRIST will visit in the SPIRIT, according as he spoke in his Gospel? Now this have I believed, and this have I received; for in this manner hath all my visitation been, perfectly as our SAVIOUR spoke in the Gospel; but this the world cannot receive, because they do not believe what they cannot see; for being visited within by the SPIRIT of GoD, and the PowER of the HOLY GHOST, though our SAVIOUR affirmed it should be; yet it appeareth as erroneous to thousands, that profess they believe the GOSPEL, as it appeareth to the Jews erroneous to believe the GOSPEL at all. But I have not so learnt CHrist, but believe his WORDS to be TRUE, that HE is with his followers to the end, that believe in HIM. But how can a man profess he believes in the Gospel, and not believe one quarter what he said? Did not Our SAVIOUR say, I come a LIGHT into the world, that whosoever believeth in ME should not abide in darkness? But if the judgment of the world be true, we must abide in darkness without the knowledge of God, without the KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST; or what He meant by his GOSPEL, or what HE meant by his SECOND COMING, or what HE meant by so often speaking of sending the COMFORTER, sending the HOLY GHOST, sending the SPIRIT of TRUTH. For all these appear dark sayings to the world; so that through unbelief they abide in darkness; and will not come to the light, because from the GosPEL they must be reproved: but shall we follow a multitude to do evil? Shall I blind my eyes and stop my ears, because the unbelieving world are determined to blind their eyes, that in seeing they will not see, nor in hearing they will not understand? Now in pondering through the Bible, I see the resolute spirits of men, that where they give Satan power to work in them, they are determined to be resolute against the TaυTH; for how did the

PERVERSENESS OF THE JEWS EXEMPLIFIED. 225

chief priests consult that they might put Lazarus to death, because many of the Jews believed on JESUS, when he had raised Lazarus from the grave? Now if this be the perverse hearts of men, it might well be said, cursed is man who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his stay! Now how perverse were the Jews! when our Saviour 'cured a man who was born blind how did they try to confound the man, who was born blind, that he should not acknowledge that it was done by the POWER and GOODNESS of GOD! But remember the man's answer; if this MAN was not of GoD he could do nothing. But they answered, thou wert altogether born in sin; and dost thou teach us? and they cast him out. Now what a perverse spirit must have been in men, to cast a man out from among them, who believed in the LORD that had wrought so great a miracle upon him, and bestowed so great a blessing unto him; that he that was born blind should have the blessing to see the sun, which they themselves, though having eyes, could not see by what SUN he received his sight! a blessing they could not give to him, yet it was a blessing they wished to take from him, by trying to fill his heart with ingratitude to deny the LORD that had opened his eyes! Thus, I see the perverse heart of man throughout the GosPEL; and thus I see they are working with ME, casting my name out as evil, because I will not act ungratefully unto the LORD, who has opened my blind eyes; for in a spiritual sense I was born as blind as the man, and I grew up blind as the man, before the visitation of the LORD came to me, to open the eyes of my understanding, and shew me the TRUE LIGHT of his GOSPEL, the TRUE LIGHT of the BIBLE, and the TRUE LIGHT of the PROMISE that was made in the Fall. So I may say, like one that was dead, I am brought to life; for as the transgression of the Woman brought Death into the world, so the fulfilment of the 'ROMISE bringeth LIFE and Iм

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MORTALITY to light. So because this truth shall not be believed, they would put me to death, as they wanted to put Lazarus to death! But these are my own ponderings, how much the world appeareth now like the days of old, and how they are persecuting now CHRIST COMING in the SPIRIT, the same as they persecuted at his being in the BODY; and as they persecuted his Disciples for believing in HIS GOSPEL; so they persecute those who believe in HIS SECOND COMING to bring in his KINGDOM of PEACE. Now as I see the perfect likeness, and all has happened as the Scripture foretelleth, I would sooner give up my life than my writings; for I cannot give up my writings without giving up my BiBLE, as the truth stands so close together. Before our SAVIOUR came into the world in the body, his Death, Sufferings, and Persecution, were all foretold; and the same in the Scripture, it is foretold, the like persecution and unbelief would abound now that all these truths stand together. Then how can they fall without falling together? I shall say with ESTHER, I will go through to my Trial; then if I perish I perish but how can I perish, trusting in the GOD of TRUTH, who has not told me any thing but what the Scriptures will bear HIM witness; though not understood by the wisdom of man, but known and understood by the WISDOM of GOD, in what manner all these things should be fulfilled. Now what could St. Paul mean when he said, the heavens must receive him until the time of the restitution of all things? Then must not a time come, that the Lord will restore all things to Man, in that likeness and happiness he created him for at first? This appears to me to be the refreshing times, that St. Paul says shall come from the presence of the LORD, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before tvas preached unto you. This was spoken by St. Paul after our SAVIOUR'S ascension to GLORY; so he could not speak of the age then present, that

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