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HOW FAR NATURAL DISPOSITIONS LEAD MEN. 433

persecution, and in their unbelief, agree together in all things? Thou answerest, no: And to this I answer as before: Satan may have power to blind their eyes through unbelief, and in that way to lead them on by unbelief; yet they have spirits of their own of different kinds, that his leading cannot change; therefore it is not the disagreement in other things that sheweth always by what spirits you are led; but this doth shew by what spirits you are led; for when my prophets were sent out in the world, no; man believed in them that was not led by MY SPIRIT; and no man persecuted them but those that were led on by the working of the devil: and perfectly so was it in my days; yet there were many that neither persecuted nor believed; and thy enquiry is, by what spirit then were they led? to this I answer, by a spirit of their own; whose lukewarm hearts were known to ME; for they could not bear the persecution of the world for my sake; therefore they could not agree to walk with ME, for want of love on the one hand; neither had they zeal enough for the glory of God, to be filled up with indignation if I had been an impostor, on the other; therefore they could not agree to be led by either; and so they walked on in a spirit of their own, that is fallen from GOD by the FALL: and this, I tell thee, is the case with thousands at this time; and in this spirit they will go on, neither to persecute nor to vindicate: such were the Laodiceans; and such men have been in all ages of the world; and so they will continue to the end. For I now tell thee and all mankind, there is no other spirit in man now, than what hath been in all ages of the world; which if you weigh my Bible deep, and compare their spirits with the spirits of men that are now before you, you may see the likeness in every age of the world. But one thought strikes thy heart— they were not alike when the world was drowned; for thou hearest of no one disputing to be with Noah; neither did any rise up against him, to prevent

his building the ark; for they only laughed at his folly; and as he had money to go through with the building, he could gain labourers to affist him inthat, as well as in other things; but thou dost not hear of any parties being overtaken with any warmth either for or against him. Here the spirits of men do not appear to thee, in that age, like as they were in other ages, and the present. To this I answer: when men were all come to that spirit, of one careless mind, they were all destroyed; and as the world was then destroyed by water, so, I tell thee, it would now be destroyed by fire, if there was but one careless spirit in it; which was proved to be at that time, and no one was preserved! But know, since, different spirits have arisen; that meaneth, different spirits have been in men, and different workings in men since the Flood: many have laid it to heart, fearing the same destruction might overtake them again. Had there been but one spirit in man when I came upon the earth, and that spirit was like the antediluvian world, none would have sought my death, any more then, than they did Noah's: so I might have been the Noah, and have gone into the ark by myself, and so have destroyed them all, because they would not come near ME; then my coming would have been of no use: the love of man would never have been shewn on the one hand, nor could the fury of Satan have been shewn on the other. For of what use is Satan's working in man, when he thinks he is going to possess the whole, as he did by the deluge? But I tell thee it was different, as I said the deluge should no more go over the land to destroy it, so in all ages of the world hath my working been powerful with with man to prevent it; I now tell thee, MY SPIRIT shall not always strive with man; for I will go on to destroy the powers of darkness, as I destroyed the world of old; for know I told thee, they were all of one mind; therefore they were all destroyed; and so of one mind are

but

HOUSE OF ISRAEL IS THE HOUSE OF FAITH. 435

all the evil spirits, and like them they shall be destroyed.

Because the ARK is made for MAN-
The Sealed Number so must stand:
And here I say the lines go deep,
For men and devils both to weep,
If they the mystery could discern,
And understand how I do warn.
But of these words I'll say no more—
From types and shadows you see clear
The way I've plac'd my Bible through,
And brought the whole before your view:
And so together all must come,

When I do make an end for man.

But now I shall go on from the prophets. Mark what followed from the words of the prophets to the ages that are past: then judge, if there be no shadow of turning in man, what shadow of turning must there be in ME; only to bring all things round like the vision of Daniel, and the wheel of fire. And now discern, how I have sifted the house of Israel amongst all nations, as corn is sifted in a sieve; yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth: neither shall the least grain of MY WORD fall to the ground; for now will I turn back the captivity of my people, and the waste cities, which I shall go on to destroy they shall build again; and they shall be inhabited by the house of Israel, which I have told thee is the HOUSE OF FAITH. So let not the Jews boast against the Gentiles; nor the Gentiles against the Jews; nor the nations one against the other. For know I have told thee what the house of Israel is-The FAITH of ABRAHAM, ISAAC, and JACOB: and all the children of the faithful are what I call the HOUSE of ISRAEL; not by the name of the Jews, but by the faith of the Jews, that stands on record. So all they that will inherit the Promise must catch hold of MY WORDS, and say, "I am of the seed of ISRAEL, as the seed of faith is sown in my heart:" and these are the people that I will plant in the land, and they no more shall be plucked out of their land, which I have given them by MY PROMISE.

But how can this be established, till men are established in faith? Have not all nations fallen through unbelief? but here I have shewed thee, in the end, how they shall stand by faith.

Obad. i. 10, 21-Jonah i. 7-Chap. iii. 10-Chap. iv. 2.-Now I have shewed thee, from Esau and Jacob, the type and shadow of Satan's destruction: and mark, from this chapter, Obad. i. how he is to be totally cut off in the end; that every mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter, for his violence against his brother Jacob. Here let men look deep and weigh the type of Esau, in the manner I have placed it; but if all things, and all men, were to be cut off for their violence, the violence of Jacob's sons was greater against their brother Joseph, and with less provocation than Esau's was against Jacob. Therefore let men discern how the type is placed, and for what it is placed: for they may see the sins of many, and the violence of many, were as bad as Esau's, and yet the threatenings to them were not like his. Then weigh the whole together, with the type of the Promise made to Isaac :-That in him should all the families of the earth be blessed: But how could all the families of the earth be blessed while the malice of men, like Esau's pursuing of Jacob, makes them pursue one the other? Now I shall make it more plain before thee, of Esau's being the seed of Isaac, that was to be destroyed: Isaac came by the seed of FAITH from Abraham, where the Promise was first made; but know, from Rebecca, Isaac's wife, came the twins; that one was to be destroyed, and the other preserved, as the PROMISE rested upon him; yet know, from these two, Esau's grandeur began to be greater than Jacob's; and Jacob's persecution began to be greater than Esau's. So if you trace deep them both, you do "not see that the Promise was fulfilled in either: perfectly so stands the Fall; and yet I tell thee the type stands deep. And now mark from the Fall : the woman's belief of the words of Satan brought

BLESSING OF JACOB AND CURSE OF ESAU. 437 the evil fruit into the world; and yet from her first refusal, and casting the blame on the serpent, I promised that that evil fruit should be destroyed; and the Evil that tempted her should also be destroyed. Mark how the Promise stands in the Fall; then mark the type of Esau-how he was born of the woman; yet her love did not cleave unto him; and the threatening was made that he should be destroyed. Now mark her faith: She was not afraid of being disappointed, to gain the blessing for the son she loved. Now I tell thee, as the type stands concerning Isaac; Esau 'to be destroyed, and Jacob to be blessed, as I have told thee, is the type of the Fall, know that from him all the families of the earth must be blessed, when that type is fulfilled, in the manner I have told thee: which type came in the beginning from Cain and Abel. Here I have shewed thee from types why the curse was so greatly pronounced on Esau: not that he as a man was worse than the sons of Jacob, in their malice concerning Joseph; but these things stand on record, as deep types for mankind, that the blessings, which were promised to Isaac, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed, must be in the destruction of Satan, as I threatened the destruction of Esau. Here let men discern the type, and the words that follow": "For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever :" then know, as the type stands of Esau, the end must surely come to the devil; yet that end did not come to Esau in the beginning, nor while he was persecuting Jacob; for Jacob first bowed unto him; and, as a man, Esau made friends with him; therefore, I tell thee, it, is the type must stand for a sign to the end; therefore it is said, SAVIOURS shall come upon MOUNT ZION to judge the Mount of Esau, and the KINGDOM shall be the LORD'S. Now I ask thee, where are the learned that can explain the mystery of these words? And why it is

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