Glass IB F \ Book The Fool hath said In his heart, there is no God. Pf. xiv. I. AN ANSWER TO THE WORLD, 2 FOR PUTTING IN PRINT A BOOK IN 1804, CALLED Copes and Paris of Copies of Letters and Communica- tions, Written from Joanna Southcoti, AND TRANSMITTED BY MISS TOWNLEY TO MR. W. SHARP IN LONDON. BEGINNING WITH THE PARABLE OF THE LITTLE FLOCK OF SHEEP: Iti which Reasons are given, in Answer to the Mockery and Ridicule of Men, for printing the Parables and Fable?,, which were Published from DIVINE COMMAND in that Book. BY WILLIAM SHARP. For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched. As for FAITH it shall flourish, Corruption shall be overcome, and the Truth, which hath fcJeeirso long without fruit, shall be declared. 2 Esdras vi. 2?, 28, LONDO jSf : PRINTED BY S. ROUSSEAU, WOOD STREET, SPA FIELDS; And sold by C. Abbott, opposite the London Apprentice, East End' of Old Street', E. J. Field, No. 130, near IMoomjbury Court, High Jfnlhom; VV. Tozer, Lambeth Road, St. Georges Fields : Also by W. Symonds, Gandy Lane; and the Miss F.vi-i ku;;is, S/. IsidweWfa Exeter; Samuel Hirst, Leeds.; and James Light, Coventry Street, Stourbridge, Worcestershire. J so(j. -£.P\$»S In eschacfe MAR 19 1908 TO THE WORLD. ii A S the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is -OL the laughter of the Fool." (Ecchfiajles viu 6.) may be applied to many — and to them might be a suf- ficient answer ; but for a man innocently to become the sport of fools, in these days, cannot be any matter of sur- prise, when the existence of a God is denied by some; and the existence of a Devil is treated by numbers as a phantom produced by a wild imagination, or a scare- crow to frighten silly people. Nevertheless, for the sake of truth, which hath been so long without fruit, it is necessary it should be declared; and for me to give a short account to the world, from my first reading the publications signed Joanna Southcott, published in the year 1801. *By reading only her three first Books, called Strange Etfects of Faith, and two others, called Strange Effects of Faith, with REMARKABLE PROPHECIES MADE IN THE YEAR, 1792, &c. of Things which are to come, I was convinced, from the events that had happened, and com- paring them with what I read in these books, that the visitation to her must be out of the course of nature, and not *f human wisdom. It then became my duty to search further into the truth, which occasioned my journey to Exeter, at the end of that year, with several friends, and who went with the like innocent motives. I had the same right to go to Exeter, to enquire after the truth, if it had been only for my individual amuse- ment, as others have to go to Bath, to entertain them- pelves with its dissipations. I was then happy to find A 2 * s ( 4 ) Joanna South cott, with whom I became personally ac- quainted, had put it out of the power of evil-disposed people ever to prove her an impostor, as she had, before her publications appeared to the world, made her appeal to the clergy in her neighbourhood, who were of the established church, stating to them the purport of her writings, which were dictated to her from a Spirit invisible, that she might have the benefit of their advice and assistance. It was the duty of the clergy, according to the laws of the church of England, to give those who applied to them, such ghostly council and advice, to the quieting his or her conscience, and avoid- ing of all scruple and doubtfulness. Here is the duty of every clergyman, which is to be seen in the exhortation in the Communion Service, and which every person may read in the Prayer Book. But her sincere application was not successful, according to the desire of her heart; this appeal to the church, however, proved Joanna Southcott could be no impostor ; for it is the maxim of every impostor to shun the truth, and avoid investiga- tion. I have further to observe, that from the year 1792 to the end of the year 17JH, her writings were sealed up, and after being witnessed* were put out of her pos- session; and the same caution was observed at the end or each succeeding year, and were at each time placed in the hands of persons of credit, until the arrival of my- self and friends at Exeter, when at our departure, which was at the beginning of January, 1 802, the whole of her sealed writings were put in our possession, properly scaled and witnessed. The box, containing the greater part, was given to my care, and a parcel, also sealed and witnessed, was given to the Rev. Stanhope Bruce; and and one to each of the other friends. And I think it Wiry to add, that whilst I was at Bath, on my return firOfn gxeter to London, I had a large case made, which ( s ) enclosed the whole box, for the cords round the box were sealed with seven seals, and I had a quantity of tow put between the box and the case, to preserve the seals from being broken. Here again, I must observe, that all these cautions of Joanna, about her writings, in sealing, &c. could not prove her an impostor; neither, from these circumstances, could the- Spirit that so di- rected her, be a false Soirit ; neither was it possible for us to be deceived resneeMng the identity of the writings delivered -to us : and which remained secure with us un- til they were conveyed by me to High-house, Padding- ton, where the box and parceU were opened, and the seals broken, in the presence of above forty person, who were assembled together by public notice, and which was at the beginning of January 1303. And after the writings were taken out, each paper was signed by three persons,, before they were delivered to Joanna, for them after- wards to be copied off. The reader will now take notice from these particulars, that there can be no cunningly contrived plan to deceive; and from the whole of Joanna's conduct, up to this day, together with what we dis- covered, when at Exeter, from the evidence of those who knew her many years before, and from constant observation since, of those who have li ed with her, and do now live with her, there is every confirmation of her sincerity, and of the divine truth of her writings. She could not adopt a more prudejit, or more respectful mode of conduct, than in her application to the clergy, who might be supposed to be the best informed in spiri- tual knowledge ; and whose duty it is to give every ghost- ly council and advice, according to what is required of them, as may be seen before, quoted from the Prayer Book. Since Joanna's firft application, every means have been used to invite the clergy at large, by letters sent to many of them at their places of residence, and by public adver- ( ) tisement, and also to religious people of every sect. There are many other particulars, which it is not neces- sary for me to repeat, they being already laid before the public ; and Mr. Foley has related in his book what may be necessary to add further, to which I must request of the readers to refer, for their greater satisfaction. The clergy of the church derive their incomes from tha establishment, that their attention and time may not be diverted from those sacred duties, by any trade or calling, like other men, that they may be the better enabled to instruct their flock in the true knowledge of the word of God, to guard them against all false doctrines, and that impostors and hypocrites njay 'not come among them to deceive, and after to ruin them in their religious princi- ples. Of the ministers of the church, who are more than twenty thousand in number, only FOUR have yet been found to sit in judgment, and vindicate the ways of God to man. Three of these formed part of the seven, who, with myself, came from distant parts, and visited Joanna, at the end of the year 1801. The present awful state of the world has been increas- ing in calamities, ever since the year 1792, the very year when the Spirit of Prophecy was given to Joanna. Let any person only compare the state of this nation, be- ginning at that year 1 79-, with what it is at present ; let them well consider the burdens that have increased up- on the people ; the sufferings many must have gone through, by dearth and scarcity, and an uncommon in- crease of national taxes and other heavy expences ! Let every person, whether they believe in Prophecies or not, only place the two dates together — that is, 1799 and this year 1800; then let them view the events that have happened on the CONTINENT or EUROPE, between those two periods of time. In the year 179?, there was no war in which this eount.ry was engaged ; the means of subsistence could be had at an easy rate. She wrote at I 7 > that time of what would happen; and which has since come to pass. When the mind of man reflects upon what has happened within the period of the last thir- teen years, they must conclude, that some great and mighty change is about to take place. After my belief was fixed, that her visitation was from the God of heaven and earth, it was my duty to believe he would be faithful to his Word and his Promises: and there can be no faith but what has its root in cha- rity : every one must know, when one person has re- ceived any act of real friendship from another, without a possibility of any return, the person receiving a favour ought to place confidence in his friend's future inten- tions; if otherwise, he must be void of all charity and faith in the good intentions of his friend, and prove himself unworthy of any future friendship. Now this must be my case, if I doubt the Love and Wisdom of the Almighty God, by rejecting his Commands, when I know what his Commands are ; and as I believe his Spirit has dictated the Writings of Joanna Southcott, which declare he is now coming to redeem the world from the bondage of evil, and establish his universal Kingdom of Peace. Therefore, if it be required of man to have charity for his friend, and who is liable to errors, what excuse can be made for a man who shall have any doubt that the Almighty is both t( faithful and true,*' and that in righteousness HE doth judge and make war to destroy all the evil that is on earth, -when his will may be done on earth as it is done in Heaven. Here are my reasons for my belief. If any person chooses to find fault with me, I expect their answer founded on the loye of truth. The first and greatest promise, made by the Almighty, was before man was created, or had ^ny existence, that he was to be created in the Image, after the likeness of hp Creator. It must be t>ie 4/ i s ) inmost principle of Divine Love, to act out of and from itself; for love is net confined, and can have no bounds . and it is truly written, God is Love. Now with this free- dom of Spirit man was created, to act in obedience or not; but who after, was tempted to become a prodigal child. The wisdom of the Most High had provided a remedy, that his image might not be lost in Man ; therefore, after the command was given to Man, not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, in the very next verse there is the remedy provided for Man's redemption, that he may be again restored by the Pro- mise first made after his creation, to make him an help- mate in the Woman, who was taken from the Man. And it was to her, and not to the Man, that the promise was made after the fall — that her Seed should bruise the Serpent's Head. As Christ certainly was born of the woman, to have his heel bruised, so by his Spirit's vi- siting the woman, she becomes at last the Helpmate. And it is said the Woman is to be prepared, as a bride is adorned for her husband; therefore, whatever Woman is to receive Christ in the Spirit, must be prepared for that purpose, in such a manner that her desires must be to him, and to him alone, to know his Will ; and when convinced it is his Will, that she may obey, as it its written, " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give ho- nour to him, (that is Christ) for the Mairiage of t^e I mibis come, and his Wife hath made herself ready." AY;-, xix. 7. The reader must keep his attention fixed to the Fall, which carne through the Woman— the tro- MISB was made to the Woman — Christ was born of the Woman— and the Redemption from the Fall must come through the Woman at last, as the Fall came through her at first*. I am convinced that Joanna has for above twenty years, in various ways, been in preparation m explanation of this given by the Si'inir, in Mr. Foley* from page 26 to the end pf5l« ( o ) from a Spirit invisible, before the year 179?, when the Spirit of Prophecy was first given to her. Had she not been thus gradually prepared, before this period, the suddenness of the extraordinary visitation would have been too powerful for nature to bear; neither could she have had that confidence in the truth of the Spi- rit, if she had not had proofs before, respecting herself, in her own private life, in many instances. Her Life has been before printed, with the reasons; and Mr. Foley has of course done her character every justice, in his Book. Here are the means of human redemption, having the foundation on the first promise made to man for his good, on which all the promises of the Scripture rest. From the beginning of Genesis to the last of Revelation, not a single failure of any one promise can be proved by man ; for all is made on conditions, provided man per-« forms his part in faith and obedience ; and, like every human contract, any failure on man's part, compels his Creator to act according to the justice of his will : and Man by his disobedience forfeited the best promise of his creation. I most particularly request of the reader, that he will examine with attention, I mean the most scrupulous attention, the Six Books of the Explanations of the Scriptures, dictated through Joanna by an invi- sible Spirit ; he may then judge of the Spirit and the Bible together ; and he may judge of me for my belief and faith. I knew that at the time I was printing the Book, containing the Parables that are so much despised, I must become an object of ridicule, and with many of contempt. My faith being decided that Joanna's visita- tion was from Divine Authority, it is .not for me to oppose the wisdom of the Almighty God, by my own natural understanding, whether I understood the Parables or not ; whatever his Commands are to put. in print, I am to obey; because I know God is faithful and true ; and who is now daily proving the truth of his divine B ( io ) Word, by bis Spirit's visiting Joanna, for her to claim the Promise made at the Fall, which is to bruise the Serpent's head, by her being the helpmate; and which never entered her natural mind, any more than it did the mind of any woman that ever existed. It is therefore not the length of time that is at all to be con- sidered. It is sufficient to know that near 6000 years have passed away with the world under the dominion of evil; and through all the different ages, no person whatever has come forth to claim the fulfilment of that Promise, which was wisely concealed in the bosom of the Father, until his appointed time. The Parables, which I put in print last year, in my book, beginning with the Parable of the Flock of Sheep, are explained by the Spirit, and given to the public in this book ; and the Parables in Mr. Foley's book, en- titled, What manner of Communications are these, are explained from the same Divine Source, in his book just published. The reader will now be in possession of the whole; and he will see the reasons, why such Parables were given. What other way can be pointed out to ex- plain to the world the various evils that the human race hath been tainted and tormented with I know not; but this I know, every art has been vised to adulterate Di- \ine Truth, in every period of the world; and the in- nocent have always been the victims for the murderer. The crimes have been so numerous from the fall up to this day, that the whole earth might be covered, were all to be put on record *. It is by parables that these ' Let every individual publish the history of his own errors, or crimes, thai li:r e not reached the eve of the work), or have been ex- posed by the laws of his country ; let families do the same ; also ci- ties, and nations, with all the millions of inhabitants in our own days, tbei with what passes daily ami hourly in the heart and mind to . if men were not restrained by law, or the fear of being ex- even man consider and reflect back, and go from ( 11 ) Bumerous evils can be brought within the compass of every understanding : and as we read that the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to every likeness of things on earth; also, at our Lord's first coming, we read, that Jesus spake in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them." Matt. xiii. The reader may now proceed to read the explanations, from the Spirit to Joanna, beginning in page 56, on Parables ; and which are further continued in Mr. Foley's book *. TYPES AND SHADOWS. Every man must know, by common observation, that before the sun shoots forth its first rays of light, which we call the dawn of the day, the earth is in dark- age to age, what murderous and adulterated hearts have existed since the fall of man, under the Devil ! — Can the numerous sands on the sea shore be enough to equal the crimes of men, what they have committed, and particularly what they would have committed, if ex- ternal restraints, and their dear characters, had not stood in the way ? Ten thousand years of life would be but a short allowance, to write out the crimes and arts of hell, that have taken place on this earth. When the leader has reflected deeply, he will better know how to estimate the truth of every historian ; he will behold the rubbish, the lies, murders, and concealments too, of great men, as well as small men, in all ages and in all countries. Then let men survey the con- duct of animals, the beasts and birds of prey, they may see, by com- parison with man y innocence even in their ferocity; for when their hunger is satisfied, they generally become tame and harm- less; but man, under tf\e dominion of the devil, is a bottomless pit that is never full. * As I have made observations different from what I had at first ex- pected, and which may be of some length, I have made a distinction by printing the words of the Spirit to Joanna in a larger type. These observations, which I have made, on a smaller type, are only to be considered as my sincere and humble efforts to assist the minds of others ; as by their various occupations with the world, in the pursuit of business, many valuable truths might have escaped their notice. A3 ( 12 ) ness, that nothing can be discovered, unless by the light of the moon, which is only a reflected or borrowed light: all objects are but imperfectly seen, and the real truth cannot be discovered. In Revelation xii, we read v of the Woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon un- der her feet. In the Writings of Joanna, the Moon is re- presented as a type of Satan, while the World is un- der his power, and in the darkness of night : It is by his wisdom that many of the learned are instructed ; and to many others this kind of wisdom appears to shine bright- ly, and the understanding of men is much dazzled and puzzled with difficulties, that a ray of pure truth is not to be found. These men constantly boast of the improved state of civilization, when compared with the Indians, Savages, Hottentots, &c. who, they say, are not en- lightened, like civilized society, with the aid of learn- in o-. That the savages and others are in a dark state is certainly true ; and it is a truth that cannot be denied, that the devil is to be found as well among savages, as he is in civilized Europe. All are alike the descendants of Adam, and of course under the Fall : — and that the sav?ges murder each other is also true ; for they have thkir wars ; yet then it is seldom but with their next neighbours, and soon at an end, when the enlightened world, with the advantage of learning, always have, and do still continue to extend, their wars, their mischief, and their crimes, to every part of the globe. Although the ty of their persons and property is owing to those laws which have originated from the Bible, they in general deny all revelation ; therefore, if learn- ing and civilization claim the preeminence, why have they not produced PEACE on karth and good will AMONGST mem ? We have had, and we continue to base, plenty of authors, and plenty of divines too — " Ye.t <>Yr the earth (he darkness it is gone \ iiin^ l»ut darkness in the Sons of Men." ( 13 ) I hope I shall be excused for having wandered from the subject ; but while mankind are under the government of the Moon, these melancholy facts suddenly appear to my view : therefore I shall again proceed with the rising sun, which is described as a type or emblem of Christ, who is the true light and life of Man ; and it is by his wisdom alone that the darkness proceeding from the Moon, which is a type of Satan, can be dispersed. We all know, that, at the first appearance of the rays of the sun above the horizon, the shadows first appear, pro- duced from substances, or objects that are behind. Let the reader here reflect on the simplicity of this language drawn from nature ; and how easy this may be under- stood by every capacity, whether learned or not ; for these effects in nature do not require the aid of what is called learning, but may be understood by illiterate men pf every nation and language, however ignorant they may be of the different modes of speech, with all their endless variations ; and which scholars are so proud of displaying and who waste so much of a short life in their pursuit, only that their own dear selves may be admired. This may appear to some like honey covering over a dish full of dirt (as mentioned in page 31 of Joanna's Prophecies.) These characters treat with contempt the parables used by Christ, for human instruction ; and they reject also every knowledge produced by types and shadows. Therefore as man cannot be brought to the knowledge of wisdom at once, he can only be gradually instruct- ed, like the introduction of the light of the morning;. For any man to be brought suddenly out of darkness to behold the sun in its meridian splendor is impossible • even the light of candles, when introduced into a room has been too strong for the eye, after the company has been sitting together at the close of the day ; therefore the splendid sun must produce the wonderful effect like the deprivation of sight. These common observations I ( 14 ) trust are sufficient to convince the reader, that the true and easy way that man can be instructed by, is first by the shadows, which the light makes us discern, that when they appear the substance must be behind, which will gently lead him to the truth. In Joanna's Book of Let- ters, page 32, she says, when the hand of God is in any thing, he always brings the shadows before the sub- stance ; and in the same page, when the sun is behind a, tree, the shadow comes before the substance ; in the preface to Joanna's first Book of Prophecies, which it is every ones duty to attend to, she says, I shall go on till I have made public all the mysteries of the Bible — the times which are to come — and what shall happen till Christ's Kingdom is established : sometimes from types and shadows ; sometimes from dreams and visions ; and also from the Bible. Here I beg of the reader to go to Mr. Foley's book, lately published, page 17, upon the lessons of the day appointed by the church, and read with attention. It is also a truth in nature, which can- not be denied, that there are shadows produced from the light of the moon, and which frequently produce terror and dismay, particularly to a timid mind. When man be- came dead to the light and wisdom of the Sun, or the Lord of Life, by the Fall, it was then that the knowledges of Satan, like the light of the moon, introduced the reign of terror and darkness in the world; and which cannot be better displayed than it is in a .part of the history of Jo- anna's life, of her being frightened by the false appear- ances that were presented to her imagination by the light of the moon, with the fright of the owls, who at the same time were as much disturbed by her, when they were stealing apples *.— -The owls at this present day are in the same state of alarm, faring the fulfilment of the Bible, that darkness may no longer prevail. — It is not sur- prising that mockery and ridicule are gone forth against me * '•" " of the Book called the Little Flock of Sheep. ( 15 ) and my friend, for publishing of the parables contained in our two booKS,and which give soexact adescription of the murderous and adulterated state of the world, that many cannot bear that the whole should be exposed. Men will there find that the true knowledge of the Bible cannot be known, without a right understanding of types and shadows ; they were placed in the prophets, the same as they have been placed to Joanna ; and were pointed out as signs to the people, of what should take place, and of what the end would be. But as I shall introduce a com- munication from the Spirit, in page 89 of this book, ex- plaining the use of the visitation at Bristol, in the sum- mer of 1804, to Joanna, a true account of which is be- fore the public, in the two books published by Mr. Fo- ley and myself, at the end of that year ; it is needless for me to observe, that the types were set as strongly in Jo- anna as they were in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, of what is now coming upon all nations ; and by referring to that communication, the reader will be instructed by the Spirit of Wisdom, why those types were set in the prophets of those days, as well as in Joanna, in the year 1804 ; therefore I shall not presume to give any further observations. All created Nature is as a Book of Wis- dom, and an Uncreated Being must be the Author ; and what God writes must be in a legible hand. From the appearances that are in nature, and the most trifling ways of men, are brought forth types to inform the most simple mind, what is the divine will to man, in both the old and new Testaments. In Jeremiah xviii. 2. the prophet is thus ordered — "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. — If any person should be de- sirous to know the reason why Jeremiah should be com- manded to go to a potter's house in particular, and there see formed those earthen utensils called pots, the answer to this enquiry is in verse 6, as follows — " O house of Israel, AS ( is > cannot I do with you as this potter ? saith the Lord t behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. I shall next require the reader's attention to Acts ii.— • After they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them ut- terance" — it is to be observed, there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire. Here again the tongues were as types or signs to them of the new mode of utterance; for every man heard them speak, each in their own language ; and they were all amazed, and marvelled, saying one to another, Are not these which speak Galileans ? and how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born ? Here I cannot but call to mind the words of a clergyman of the church, a doc- tor in divinity too, who told me " he had no opinion of a Holy Ghost who could not write grammar." This learn- ed divine, who said these words tome, is the author of many publications to civilize the world : and he also has since expressed his contempt of people's attending to the writings of a foolish old woman ; but it remains for this man to prove, how many of the apostles were learned men, 1 shall now leave this foolish doctor of divinity, and shall return to Acts ii. where there is ano- ther verse that may give offence to the learned. It is verse 17, being the words of the prophet Joel, which Peter one of the apostles then delivered : " And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daugh- ters shall prophesy ; and your young men shall see vi- sions ; and your old men shall dream dreams. It is need- less, at present, to say much about dreams; all persons, whether learned or not, know what they are ; but 1 must observe that, they form an important part of the wisdom of the Bible, as will be seen in the following pages, many dreams have proceeded from that Spirit of Wisdom, which is to be upon all flesh; ( 17 ) and which persons of every nation and language may and will understand, when the knowledges of the Lord cover the earth, as the waters cover the great deep ; for when this takes place, the substance is come of what stands on record, of the Apostles' being filled with the holy ghost, which was in them as the shadow. And as the tongues appeared like as fire, the fire shall try every man's works. 1 Cor. iii. 13. It is unnecessary forme to repeat the many passages in the Bible, all prov- ing that fire is a type of purification, as many pages might be filled $ for by fire, and by his sword, will the Lord plead with all flesh. Isaiah lxvL 15. It is how- ever necessary to remark, that the Apostles spake to every man, each in his own tongue, — the tongue wherein he was born ; and in the very same manner the. Spirit now speaks to Joanna ; for all persons think and ponder in the only language they were educated in : they can think in no other ; neither can they be instruc- ted in any other. I shall here introduce the words given to Joanna last summer. THE WORDS OF THE SPIRIT. was the work of his hands ; and by foreseeing what passes in the heart and mind of Lucifer, and every other being, cannot by his divine wisdom put bounds to the evil, and provide a remedy ; for there canbeno eternity to evil, which had a beginning and must have an end. The man who doubts the wis- dom and fore- knowledge of God, may as well deny his power of creation ; or man may join with Satan and say he created himself. I shall here transcribe the words of the Spirit of Wisdom, from a book published by Joanna Southcott, called C( Sound the Alarm" page 58; at the same time request the reading of her Prayer, which pre- cedes that communication. The reader will see in the communication, that the devil began by folly, which progressively destroyd the wisdom he had once received, and he became a tyrant of darkness — as man became dead to the knowledge of the Most High when he fell under his power. A person asked Joanna, " Why the Lord created the devil to be such a sinful being in heaven, when he fore- knew he would be so ? " Here is the answer of the Spirit to Joanna : (i Now I will answer thee, of the man that asked why I created the devil, knowing what a wicked being he would be? Here the wisdom of man hath tifken in question the wisdom of his maker.- But know, O vain men, you must first feel the pain of sickness, before you know the pleasure of health. A man that never felt poverty, knows not what he enjoys by his riches. Neither did the an- gels in heaven know from whence all their happiness flowed, that I had created in the realms of bliss. There, fore as worms breed in wood, so did evil breed in the devil and fallen angels. They could not believe that all happiness sprang from me. Envy and pride entered their hearts, — as worms into wood, till it begins to decay ( 27 ) and moulder into dust. Just so did evil enter into the heart of the devil — that thought he was a created being 9 though not of me, but of himself— equal in might, majesty, and power — and that he ought to be worshipped in heaven, equal with me. Thus evil entered his heart without my creating it ; and as wood is grown, and is made into timber for use, and the worms breed in it of them- selves, without being there when it was first formed and fashioned * : just so did evil enter into the heart of the devil, like the worms that bread of themselves in timber, till he became corrupt all through, by pride, malice, and envy. Thus did evil breed of itself. Then I separated the evil from the good, and cast him out of heaven, with the angels that worshipped him, and placed his power below to shew his reign, and created man upon the earth, where he had power to tempt man, as he tempted the angels in heaven. Therefore when I created man, I well knew the depth of Satan's arts, that he would find away to have an influence over him, as he had over the angels in heaven. Therefore I said, it was not good for the man to be alone, and said, I would make an help- mate for his good, and placed the tree of knowledge in the garden, that if the man eat thereof, he should be dead — " to Knowledge; 1 but did not add the last words that I meant. Now, this command was given to the- man, and known to the devil, who thought if he could impose on the weakness of the woman, he should destroy the works of the creation — and say, the woman I made for man's good was for his hurt; — and then prove to the fallen angels— I had as greatly erred in casting them out of heaven,— as I erred in the creation, in making the woman for man's good to be his helpmate : but man be- came dead to knowledge. How then could she be for his good ? It was concealed from the knowledge of man to * Every thing has a form corresponding with its essence. D9 ( 58 ) this day, how she could be for man's good, that the wo- man was then made, who, they judged, brought the fall on man. Here with man it might appear impossible, but with God all things are possible — and the mystery is possible and plain ; for, the man was made of the dust of the ground ; the woman was made of flesh and blood, taken from man in estate of perfection. But know, he was not then the perfect man, but divided into two living souls and bodies', and Satan betrayed that part of him, that I pronounced for his good — and man cast his blame on her, and me forgiving her. But on the serpent* that is, the devil, was the woman's blame cast : — ^and know the curse I then pronounced on him, that that curse should fall on him above every living creature — that he should creep on his belly, as having no t'ooc to stand upon. This, as a serpent, was pronounced against the devil, and I said I would cause enmity between his seed and her seed, and it should bruise his head. Now, answer me, O ye sons ofmen v did Satan outwit me? or shall I outwit him? If I do not fulfil the intent of my heart, Satan must have outwitted me in the creation, as he is now trying to outwit men in their redemption. But know, O vain men, if he outwits man, he cannot outwit me, who made the heavens and formed the earth, and knew all the depth s-of Satan's arts : There- fore I laid a plan in the creation to make room for man's redemption, by the woman that I created for man's good, by casting her blame on Satan s head; and that every soul will find in the end. Then will all the earth know I did not err in the creation, when I bring in your redemption. For every footing Satan hath got on earth mu^t be taken away, when I come to fulfil my promise, to bruise his head ; and bring the curse on him as I pronounced. Then will men say, "Let God be true, and every man a liar," that says he erred in the creation, and did not make ( 29 ) the woman for man's good. But know, I am God, and change not. It is man that hath sought out many in- ventions to wrest the Scriptures to his own condemna- tion, not discerning the Lord's body till his coming— that as my heel was bruised ; so must Satan s bead be bruised also. But this knowledge man has been dead to, ever since the fall, which way it will be accomplished, till the glory of the Lord was revealed 1° the -woman, that she should ask and receive, that her joys should be full, to be avenged of her adversary the devil, whose subtle arts caused her fall ; and my promise must be her plead, and my honour is engaged to save all to the utmost, who now believe my word is, "Yea and Amen** What I promise I shall fulfil ; therefore as dust returns to dust, the creation must turn to what 1 created them for at first. So if it did not prove for man's good then that she was betrayed, it shall be for man's good that she pleads the promise, which was made in the crea- tion, to bring in man's redemption. Therefore have I made all her Prophecies more true and plain, if man can discern them through, than any prophecies given to man, that you may now begin to see the woman is your help- mate for your good. But if all were given plain and true to man, they would not want, nor receive the- woman, for their good ; but judge they knew all them- selves. Therefore I have foiled the prophecies of men, and made it more plain to thewoman, that you may be- gin to lift up your heads, and " Kno-w that your Redemp- tion drawetb near'," and my words are near to be fulfilled, that Satan's curse, which was pronounced, shall fall upon his head — and my kingdom of peace near to be estab- lished. But all these mysteries you must dig deep to find them ; for this is the pearl of great price/' To ascribe evil to proceed from God, a man may as well say darkness proceeds from the sun, when he shuts the { 30 ) windows of his chamber : for darkness is a deprivation of light, as an evil mind, which produces hatred and every base principle, is a deprivation of heavenly love and good- ness. The world under the s fall is in darkness, originally produced by the prince of darkness, when man fell un- der his power; and, as I before observed, he is called the prince of this world. The Bible is a divine collection of records on purpose to shew to man the effects of his fallen state, that in the end, from the fountain of all goodness, he may see also the origin of evil and its end; many infidels have blamed the Bible, in recording so much evil, instead of admiring it for its impartiality, in shewing what man has been, and what he is under the powers of darkness, when what are called the best of men in every age have fallen into evil deeds, "except Jesus Christ, of whom every historian, and men of every descrip- tion have united with Pilate to say — " I find no fault in him." The first man, Adam, a created being after the image of his God, who had no human father, was se- duced into disobedience, through the ignorance of the woman, as they were without any suspicion of evil; for a suspicion of evil could only proceed from a knowledge that evil existsd ; and the power of Satan was at that time unknown to them; and as he had before succeeded in tempting angels, (for in the ii Peter 4.) * c God spared not the angels that sinned," there can be no doubt, but he would have had the same success with man, had there been no woman to betray ; for it was not through the instrumentality of a woman that the angels fell. But the duty of the first man, Adam, was to stand in his obedience, which would have been their protection from every temptation, and /Vdam would never have used the words infused into him by Satan, to blame his Creator, for giving him the woman ; but as he fell by the tempta- tions of Satan, through the woman, man will in the end praise his Maker for making the woman to be his helpmate ( 31 ) for his good, by the Spirit of Christ* when He comes in power to redeem the world from death, hell, and sin. Christ came into the world born of a woman, of the Holy- Ghost. The only two persons that were without any human father were the first man Adam, and the second man Adam, who was the Lord from heaven, (on whom the first Adam cast the blame.) Jesus knew the tempter's arts, and suffered for man that inexpressible misery, which the mind cannot conceive. Human feel- ings are as different from divine, as light from darkness; we know that a good and humane man feels pain in this world, when he beholds an act of cruelty; but a man, in whose breast pity is a stranger, feels no torment, and loves the world with its cruelties. From this we may conceive only a faint idea of the sufferings of Christ, who was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, — who sweated drops of blood. During the time he was on this earth, as a man, he was, in common with every earthly being, subjected to every temptation from the prince of this world, as is mentioned in Luke iv ; for Satan well knew who he was ; and when he shewed the Lord the kingdoms of this world, in a moment of time — which he offered to give, with the glory of them, he added, "For that is delivered unto me: and to whomso- ever I will, I give it." In this chapter are the tempta- tions of Christ recorded, and his victories over them ; he not having evil in himself, although subject to its ef- fects; but by his divine power he resisted the temptations of thesame tempter, who at first by arts seduced our first parents to evil ; and who is described with his crimes and arts in various parts of the Bible, and also in Joan- na's Books, until we find, in Luke 22, Satan's entering into Judas to betray his Lord, and who was afterwards crucified ; and before he expired, he said, It is finished — and here finished the power that Saltan had over him> f 32 ) who as a man came in the lowest state of humiliation, into a world under the dominion of evil, and by his combats and victories, he successively glorified that human body he received from his mother, and united it to the Divine*, and as our Lord had during his natural life proved that he had no spot or blemish of evil, and who resisted every temptation unto his death, his body did not see cor- ruption, but he arose again from the tomb with his glorified body. Here let the reader mark and reflect up- on his dying words — It is finished, and not to fall into the fatal error of many, who say these words signi- fy the redemption of the world from Satan's power, when it is so v/ell known his power and mischief has continued in the world, over the human race, up to this day, and the world is not ye redeemed. For here was the heel of the seed of the woman bruised ; as Christ was born of the woman without a human father : and it is by the seed of the woman- that Satan's head is to be bruised, by the Spirit of Christ in her, at his second coming ; and all those who are united to the woman in obedience, are spiritually the seed of the woman ; and those who are in the world in this spiritual union, when Satan receives his curse, (which must be above every creature, whose crimes and arts, are as much beyond human conception, as the love of Christ is beyond every human love ; then it is that our vile bodies will be changed like unto Christ's glorious body, which he had glorified by his victories and arose from the grave. It is necessary to remark, that from the fall of man up to this day, there has been no human being but what has- committed evil, or fell under some temptations ; neither .could any man whatever stand at all in his own strength ; and when Christ had finished his work, as a suffering Saviour, he said — "Father forgive them, they know * Father, glorify thy name. John xxii. 28. ( 33 ) .not what they do. But it is the murderer who entered Judas, that knew who he was, and caused his innocent blood to be shed, who is therefore without any claim to forgiveness or pity, not having a heart of repentance like Judas. When Satan left the man he despaired and died. It was not the spirit of Judas that betrayed his Lord ; for in St. Luke xxii. 3. it says, " Then Satan en- tered Judas." Judas was only the instrument, or hand, not the principal; for the 21 verse might be thus read> " But behold the hand of Satan that betrayeth me is with MS on the table. — Judas was here the hand of Satan* had it been the man's spirit, then these words — M Satan entered Judas," and continued to the end of page 77. The whole of these Communications were taken by Ann Underwood, from the mouth of Joanna South- cott, in the presence oj Jane Townley. A COMMUNICATION ON JOANNA'S VISITATION, AT BRISTOL; in 1804. I have promised, in page 15, to give to the public a further Communication about Types and Shadows, and which follows here, in addition to what has already been given by the Spirit in the foregoing pages. June 9, 1805, after Joanna had been reading over her wondrous visitation at Bristol, in the summer of 1S04, she deeply pondered in her heart of the manner of her visita- tion ; of her being so strongly assaulted by the powers of darkness, at that time; and that the publication of them could be of no use to be put in print, as she saw no prophecies in them. Whilst Joanna was thus pondering, the Spirit told her, they were of use for a time to come; arid that the strange things, which had happened to her during that year, should be compared with the book of Job—- with Isaiah xx— where the Lord ordered him to walk naked and bare-footed three years, for a sign and a wonder upon Egypt, &c. — with Jeremiah xiii — where the Lord ordered him to take a linen girdle, and M ( 90 ) put it on his loins ; and after that he was ordered to take the girdle and go to Euphrates, and hide it' there in a hole of the rock ; and after many days, he was ordered to go again and take it out; — and also in Ezekiel iy, are seen the many different ways the Lord commanded him to do. In the same year of 180*, Joanna was twice ordered to send the Letters by Express, instead of the usual mode by the post. Now all these things together appeared to her marvellous ; as she could see no prophecies in them ; and that it could be no pleasure to people to read about her sufferings. These were the pondering thoughts of Joanna, on Sunday, June 9, 1605, while she was reading over the Book printed by Mr. Foley, at the end of 1804, entitled, u What manner of Communications are these." THE ANSWER OF THE SPIRTT. Now, Joanna, I shall answer thee from the pon- dering of thy heart and thoughts, which I have worked strongly in thee ; as the hearts of all men are known to me, and the pondering of thy heart and thoughts are the pondering thoughts of many. And now I tell thee why I ordered thy Visitation to be so in print. Know what I told thee of the year at the beginning, that it was a type of the End ; and now I tell thee, there are no books that have been printed are a stronger prophecy of the end than those are : and I now tell thee, what happened to thee is a deep type and shadow to your nation, and to all nations. For as Isaiah's going barefooted was a type unto the people what should happen to them ; so I tell thee, what happened to thee is a type unto the na- tions the same ; and perfectly so they will find it in the end ; for as I placed types and shadows in thefc*, let this be observed and remarked by all men, this thia§ came to thee in the 4th year of the century, that I told thee before the century began, in the 4th ( 91 ) year I should begin to change my Blessings into Judgments ; and in that year I set the type as strongly in thee as I set it in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekie'l. And now mark the words which I said to Jeremiah, after I had set the sign from the girdle, that he took out of the rock and saw it was marred, and was profitable for nothing: know my answer : After this manner will I marr the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. And perfectly so, I tell thee, hath been my Visitation to thee ; and in like manner it shall come upon the Nations. And mark every way ; it came to thee in different ways, and in a different manner; and so, I tell thee, in different ways, and in a different manner, it will come upon the Nations. And mark how many different ways I ordered the type to stand in Ezeliel, chap, iv # : the one by taking a tile, as though he was laying siege against Jerusalem and setting battering rams against it round about ; and as I ordered him to take an iron pan and set it for a wall of iron between him and the city, and to besiege it, for a sign to the house of Israel ; then I ordered him to lay on his left side, to lay the iniquities of the house of Israel upon it ; and the years of their iniquity were to be according to the number of days that I ordered him to lay on his left side — three hundred and ninety days ; and forty days to lay on his right side, for the iniquities of the house of Judah, each day for a year. Then I ordered the meat he should eat to be mixed together, which was unpleasant to the taste. Thus I com- manded the prophet for a sign unto the people, what their iniquities should bring upon them ; and per- fectly so, I tell thee, the three months that my Visitation was so strange upon thee, in the 4th year of the century, will be three yeaks to this nation, * Read the 4th and oth chapters, which were written 518 years he- fore Christ. M 2 ( 9* ) wherein they will see my strange Visitation, of various kinds. For though they do not discern the distresses that have happened to your people abroad-^-no more than they discerned what happened to thee ; and yet, 1 tell thee, it was felt by the people of your own land, as my visitation was. felt by thee : and. as thou didst lie on the floor in agonies and sufferings, so did your people lie on the ground by the sword, by the plague that was in your Port # , and others were sunk in the great deep. But this hath been unnoticed by man, to discern the shadows that first appeared ; but I tell vou, it will be felt by your land when the Expresses come of dangers, as I ordered the Expresses to go out. This is a shadow you do not discern, the two expresses that I commanded should be sent out xh^ first year that I began to visit your nation with heavy afflicti- ons ; they do not discern it ; neither will they discern it, before judgments co?ne heavier upon them ; but by Expresses they will be warned : and I now tell thee, in various ways things will happen in your land. And now I shall begin with thy first Visi- tation : thou wast alarmed, fearing thou hadst done wrong, and every mark of despair was fixed in thee ; then came the power of my Spirit to thy deliver- ance. Now I tell thee, this is one of the things that will happen to your nation : when they see the judgments roll on, and great dangers seem to sur« round them, there are thousands who zvill begin like thee, to make enquiry if they have done wrong ; for know I have told thee, the persecuting Pauls, where the hearts be good, they will begin to grow jealous for thcir.-elves, when they see the dangers before them, and the truth is plainly shewn unto them ; then they will begin to cry out like thee, and enquire into the cause : therefore I took my Spirit from thee and hid my face as it were for a moment, and gave the enemy room to work, that I might shew thee * Gibraltar. ( 93 ) what would be in the heart of man. But know I told thee, those that began to grow jealous, like thee, fear- ing they might do wrong, I should convince them in the end, when I began to shew my powerful working : and powerful they will rind it in the end. This is the shadow of one of thy visitations, that many, like thee, will be jealous for themselves. But now I shall tell thee of another visitation, when thou wast laid on the floor, insensible of what thou wast doing, till thou hadst discoloured thy own flesh by thy own hands, beating thyself. This is a Type which stands deep for the LAND, that is insensible of their own dangers, insensible of what they are do- ing, and what they are bringing on themselves. And I tell thee, it is not to this nation only, but the type stands deep for other nations ; because thy prophe- cies stand for all nations, and the ends of the earth : and my visitation is upon all nations, which I tell thee will go on ; for I shall not stop until I have made an end. Therefore I tell thee, thousands, like thee, will be insensible of what they are doing, till their own hands bring on their own destruction, as thy own hands wounded thee. This is another shadow which lies deep for the nation ; and, as I told thee, for all nations : and know, in this thou wast insensible. Another shadow is of thy sickness ; for I now tell thee, as thou wast sick, so shall I sicken the nations, and make them sick with smit- ing them ; for I now tell thee, as thy stomach loath- ed the bread of man, so do men loath my word, and the bread that cometh down from heaven to be eternal life to them ; and yet, I tell thee, this is as much loathed by thousands, as bread was loathed by thee; therefore I shall make them sick even unto death, as thou wast sick ; but thy life was prolong- ed to finish the work I had for thee to do ; and so I tell thee of the nations ; though I shall make them sick with smiting therm yet I shall not cut them clean t "m ) off, before my work is finished, in the war you are now engaged ; for I now tell thee, as thou brakest the clomen ware, the potter's clay, so shall I break the nations in pieces. For I now tell thee, perfectly like the types I placed in my prophets, which I have mentioned unto thee, perfectly so all nations will l>noiv I placed the types last year in thee ; and there- fore, I tell thee, it is not seven times seven the number of those books that are printed, that will be enough for the end. Here I have shewed thee thy own folly, concerning the books. And now I shall go on with the types I placed in thee ; and come tothy midnight hours, and thy restlessness in thy bed. Here, I tell thee, the type goes deep for thy friends, as well as foes. When dangers sur- round you all, then let them mark thy words ; — "Fear not my friends — fear not my followers — fear not ye that are longing for my coming." For what I spoke then to my handmaids through thee, is spoken to all my brethren. This, 1 tell thee, is a deep type to the Believers, when my destroying angel goeth forth, and dangers seem to surround them all ; then I bid them to fear not, but stand still and seethe salvation of the Lord: and they will know what manner of com- munications all these are, when their hearts are sad ; for then their deliverance draweth near, to turn their sorrows into joy, and end as thine did with the year, which is but a shadow to the Believers, how their sorrows will end in a perfect harmony and joy. But had enemies come forward at the end of the year, the type could not be set for them to shew clearly their end, after troubles had come upon them as the type stood in thee; for I tell thee, every type stood in thee, for friends and foes; for those that mock their coming Lord, and those that are longing for my kingdom. And now I shall tell thee of thy temptations. It is known to thee as well as to me, many have disputed of the book of Job, and ( 95 ) never believed there was such a man, or such tempta- tions, and thought that Satan would not dispu^u with the Lord, or that the Lord would ever answel him. This, as it is known to thee as well as me, hath been disputed by men ; therefore I permitted, the powers of darkness to work every way with thee, that it might be made known at the end, what are his dis- putes, and what are my answers. And now I tell thee, as Satan's working was strong with thee, so wilt his working be strong with mankind, that he may foil them in the end. And this I told thee in the year 1 800, how strongly Satan would pursue man- kind, that he may seek their destruction, and not let them go to possess my promised rest, that I hav$ promised unto man. But had I never made known his arts to thee, by permitting him to come, his arts would never have been made known to mankind; for had it been only in the book of Job, it would not have been believed by man, that in all ages he hath pursued the same ; but I tell thee, in all ages many have been his arts, and' strong have been his disputes against mankind : therefore it is written, he is the great ACCUSER of the Brethren; but how could this be proved and known, to appear to mankind, if I had not permitted him to visit thee, to shew you all, that the end is at hand. And I now tell thee, deep are the parables, which Satan brought forward ; for if he cannot accomplish them in one, he will try to accomplish them in others; though not in the same manner, yet I tell thee, in the same sense will his pursuits be with mankind ; and every visitation that came to thee, in the year that is past, will be deeply discerned in the end, when thou art no more ; for every mystery and every work- ing must be made known to mankind.'* 4/ ( 96 ) I am afraid to add ar>y observations at the close of this book, ilest I should divert the mind from the words of wisdofe ; as it is my sincere wish, that every man may seriously consider, that he has a great duty to perform, like a jury in a court of justice^ which is to know the truth, the whole truth, and riothing but the truth : — « For he that is most zealous to find out the Truth is the most zealous to know his God:— He that hath ears to hear, iet him hear; he that hath a heart to understand, let him understand : — I have spoken, but ye have not hearkened; and the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the pro- phets, rising early and sending them unto you ; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ears to hear." Jer. xxv. 3. For as a horse that runneth a race and stop- peth not until he hath gained the prize, so will the Re- deemer of Israel go on, and will not stop, until he hath brought forth judgment unto victory, and accomplished all the promises made in the Bible, having their founda- tion on the promise at the creation of man; for so sure as the body of man came from the dust of the ground, so sure will he rise above the dust and become a living soul: — "Thy dead shalllive ; with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust : for thy dew is as the dew of herbs ; and the earth shall cast out the dead. — Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee ; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the in- dignation be overpast. — For behold the LORD COMETH OUT OF HIS PLACE, TO PUNISH THE INHA- BITANTS OF THE EARTH FOR THEIR INIQUITY : THE EARTH ALSO SHALL DISCLOSE HER BLOOD, AND SHALL NO MORE COVER HER SLAIN. La. XXvi. 19 — 21. April 3. 1806. WILLIAM SHARP. S Kolssimj, Printer, Wood Street, Spa Fields. [.Price One Shilling and Sixpence.'] I* '09 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111