Class Q_t Book : IX / COPIES OF : - LETTERS 7 SENT TO THE CLERGY OF EXETER, From 1796 to 1800, WITH COMMUNICATIONS andPROPHECIES Put in the Newspapers in 1813. BY JOANNA SOUTHCOTT. LONDON: Printed by Marchant and Gakbin, Ingram-Court ; and sold by W. To z Eft, Chapel-Place, Duke-Street, Westminster-Road, Southwaris ; also by the Miss Eveleighs, St. Sidwell's, Exeter; S. Hirst, Leeds; W„ Wadmin, York ; James Licet, Coventry-Street, Stourbridge; Edmunb Baker, Ilminster; C. Bradley, Digbeth, Birmingham; John Nesbit* Gravesend; and T. Turpin, Greenwich. 1813. ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. ^ % r .51 O 1$ exchange Harvard Oteiy.Lia WAR 15 1908 I SHALL begin this Book with the Prophecies, which I was* ordered to put into the newspapers, as they may otherwise be lost. The first advertisement, in the Times paper, Oct. 28, 1813: Joanna Southcott's Letter to the Nation. I, Joanna Southcott, have been more than twelve years publicly warning the nation of what the Lord hath revealed unto me he will do upon the earth ; and the events have been daily fulfilling abroad and at home, which causes some to believe the Visitation to be from the Lord ; while others, with the most infamous abuse and falsehood, have publicly declared me to be an Impostor ; and others, with the same ignorance and folly, say that my Writings are from the devil, full of blasphemy, and wondered that the Bishops should have suffered me to go on in this manner. I have borne the mock- ery and abuse of men ; but now let all their wonder cease ; for I shall return to mock them, as they have mocked me, and prove it is the devil, in the form of men, from whence all this malice and per- secution proceed. And now I shall say with David, " If I have been vile, I will still be viler :" and if I have been bold, I will be bolder. — To my other Prophe- cies I have added two Books, lately published, entitled, " Book of Wonders ;" and five more will appear hereafter, which I defy all the Bishops in England, the Members of Parliament, and all the Judges in the land, with all the judgment they can form together, to be able to prove these two books of Wonders, with the other Prophecies, were ever brought round by the wisdom and know- A 2 ledge of the devil, or by the wisdom and know- ledge of an Impostor. Let the Bishops come forward with the Rev. Mr. Pomeroy, and I will soon convince them that I could as soon make the world, as I could make my writings, and bring them round in the manner they have been brought round to be fulfilled. I am not so wise as the world makes me ; therefore, I shall give unto the Lord the honour and glory that is due unto his name : and those that say they are from the devil, I shall turn their blasphemy upon their own heads ; because it is blasphemy to say, that such wisdom, knowledge, and power, can be in the devil. And I was answered this morning, that if men went on in this way, and the Bishops did not awaken, to prove , the calling is from on high, to stop this blasphemy in men, that awful judgments should now come on, upon them and upon the nation : for these are the words said unto me: — "I will laugh at their calamity ; T will mock ct when their fear cometh : when your fear cometh " as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a u whirlwind : when distress and anguish come " upon you; then shall they call upon me, but I " will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but " they shall not find me: fori have looked and " there is none to help ; and I wondered that there u was none to uphold ; therefore mine own arm " brought salvation unto me; and my fury upheld " me ; and I will tread down the people in mine " anger, and make them drunk in my fury; I will " bring down their strength to the earth." This is the voice of the Lord unto me, from the scripture Prophecies. — " The watchmen are blind; " they are all ignorant ; they are all dumb dogs " We sooner judge it from herself." Then sure their building won't agree ; For unwise judges they must be, 'to think that e'er a woman's head Such curious buildings ever laid, As is as far beyond thy power, As 'twas for them to build the tower. Then will they answer, it came from man t I ask them how their tower will stand, When not one word he can make good £ I'll soon confound, if this be said ; But if together they'll agree, To say, " we'll build another way, 41 And all agree it came from heaven ; " To build our towers, can this be given, " For us to climb so very high, " And make our wisdom reach the sky. w Yes, there in wisdom you may boast. And make the serpent lick the dust, When you have prov'd your judgment clear^ That others may not foil you here. So for the present this I'll end : In print let all these lines be penn'd; For I will try the heads of men, And see what knowledge is in them; And if there's any I discern, My knowledge he will' soon pull down ; For though the good fruit hung so high, The knowledge sure was on the tree; And as the woman pluck'd it first, That way the Serpent must be cast, When I hand down the better food, Then she must give you what is good/' — ■ The following communication was given upon iny going to Bristol. Mrs. Taylor wished me not 35 to go, but I told her I must go ; and then they did every thing in their power to make me com- fortable ; to which I was answered — '*' The words from thee was spoke by me— I will not stay thy hand : I tell thee there's a mystery You easy can't command. Like Taylor's care, they'll find m e near ; So careful will I be ; I'll speak to all ; for so't shall fall, And they'll take care of thee. For in my hands I all hearts command, And every heart I'll turn ; Mark thou this day, to thee I say, The father and the son ; The one did go the cost to know, The other said he'd speak Unto the man to take thee in — The mystery there is great. '* So Taylor here shan't lose his care ; For him I'll do the same ; 'Tis done to thee, and now to me ; Then let my Gospel come. " But 1*11 end here, and say no more — But answer instantly, The words by Dingels spoken there, That was admired by thee : Thy steady faith, as Dingels saith, Will be admired by all, When men do see the mystery ; For down the sands must fall. The rock is come, it will be known : For on it thou dost build ; No storms or tempests can make fall— 'Tis men their faith do spill ; They did at first, and now at last — ■ The woman foil'd you all ; But when you see the mystery. Then judge of Adam's call : Naked did he appear to be, And hid his face away ; I told him there for to appear, But what did Adam say ? " Naked I am," — behold the mail; Then cast your shame aside j For I'll appear to answer here— The field is open wide. €2 36 Because you'll see the mystery,* How naked all will come ; Stripp'd of their clothing they will be,. That cover'd them so long. Their wisdom great their pride did hea% Their knowledge they did boast ; But when I come to rescue men, Their clothing will be lost. Then naked here they will appear, But shame must pass away j The joyful news, that all will hear, Will make them boldly say — The woman, see, 'tis done by she ; Let her accusers come, Then they'll find none to cast a stone,. But own 'tis wisely done ; Beyond the skill of Satan's wheel,. Beyond the heads of men, A thing to clear so perfect here, Where shame can never come, *Tis noisM abroad, to all be't know'd,. But few men do believe. Could'st they but see the mystery, They'd find another Eve Shall now regain : — was Abel slain ? Did I for man atone? The woman's form must now be knows For to redeem her own. But I'll appear to tell thee here It is not done by thee ; The power of man would overcome: And thou a coward be, Did I not hold and now unfold, To make thy anchor strong ; Thy sands they'd see like mans to be, And thou would'st tumble down. " So praise no more thy courage here, Thy persevering faith ; 'Tis I'm in thee, they all will see, Or surely„ like the rest, Thy faith would fall, be it known to al-l^. When I let go my hand. I bid thee for t© own to all How trembling thou didst stand, So near the brink thou'dst often sink ;. And wilt thou boast like man ? Thou answer'st, no : if I let go, Thou hast no power to stand," 37 The following are copies of additional letters sent to the Morning Herald. Another Address to the Public, from Joanna Southcott. AS I have been informed, that applications were made to the bookseller for the book alluded to in the " Warning to the Bishops," inserted in the paper of Tuesday, Nov. 9, and that they ex- pected the book to have been of the same title; therefore I take this method of informing the public, that it is " The Second' Book of Won- ders" which is alluded to, that the Bishops are applied to, for to judge between the Rev. Mr. Pomeroy and me, from the letters which passed between us, in 1804. See 3 1st page. When a methodist was informed of my being confined from seeing any of my friends till my trial, his answer was, that I had now fixed my- self ; as I might be confined for a hundred years, if I lived so long. Another man laughed on reading the " Warn- ing to the Bishops," and said, if he had the Bishop of Durham's place, he would not regard my threatenings. When I heard these things, I reflected upon the conduct of mankind, and I thought that I might say with David, — " Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him !" I may say, near forty years my spirits have been greatly wounded and grieved by the perverse hearts of men ; pro-, fessors as well as profane ; for, if I look at the conduct of the boasters of religion, I have not found one man among a thousand, who profess to be Gospel preachers, that have proved themselves Gospel believers. 38 " So now I plainly see the hearts of men, in chequered lines, lie open unto me." To my thoughts I was answered, that the Lord hath been provoked with man in the same man- ner ; and found it a crooked and perverse gene- ration, that did not know the ways of the Lord ; therefore, he would say of this nation, as he said of the Jews of old, that they should never enter into his promised rest, if they waited until the forty years, mentioned by me, were up ; which will be next April, 1814. Therefore I am an- swered, that this is the Day of Salvation, if they will hear his voice : they must not harden their hearts, as in the days of temptation in the wil- derness. " But now is the accepted time ; now is the day of salvation : if they turn unto the Lord, he will have mercy upon them ; and to the Most High God, for he will abundantly pardon them." — " The King's business requireth haste: for a quick work will the Lord do upon the earth. This is my strict command to thee, that my answer to their words must be put in the newspaper, that I may be clear from the blood of all men. Let the newspapers be kept ; for they will all find the Prophecies true— for blessings, or judgments, according as men now act ; fori shall trifle with man no longer; neither bear with their putting it off to a future time." — This OS the answer of the Lord,. Joanna Southcott, Monday, Nov. 15, 1813. The following very extraordinary article was received yesterday, with a request for its imme- diate insertion in our paper : — 39 jl fourth Letter of Prophecy, by Joanna South- cott. TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE, My former Letters of Warning have roused va- rious passions in men, and some public com- ments. Among the latter I shall notice a letter in the Stourbridge paper of the 12th instant, signed Ephraim, wherein he advises me to " make a friend of his Satanic Majesty ; as he may lay his frightful paw upon me f therefore he advises me to " court his favour — speak kindly of him ; for it is good to have a friend wherever we go." I shall answer him from the words of Solomon — •" A foot's bolt is soon shot; the soul of the wicked desireth evil ; and wisdom is too high for afoot." But he who thinks to find a friend in the devil will find himself deceived. I put no trust in man ; then I certainly shall not put trust in the devil, who hath used his utmost endeavours to work in the hearts of men against me : and formed himself in men, to cast out floods of lies against me. I have not built upon such sandy foundation. Though the world laugh at my weakness, to believe that the Bishops will give themselves the trouble of coming forward and pass their judgment as required; I put no more trust in the Bishops, as men, than I do in their chariots or horses ; but my trust is in the Lord of Hosts, who saith to the proud waves of the sea — Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further : who can say to the south, give up ; and to the north, keep not back : who can make his people willing, in the day of his power. This is the faith that I rely upon — the rock of ages, and the God of my salvation — that the gates of hell cannot prevail against ; and this is the faith that our Saviour. 40 said, in his Gospel, was like the wise man, build- ing* his house upon the rock, that the rain des- cended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not ; for it was founded upon the rock : and this is the rock, which I have built upon : and therefore my house will not fall ; but those who have built like this foolish man, will find their houses to be built on the sand ; and great will.be the fall thereof. This is my answer to the newspaper — to let them know, that my trust is neither in men nor devils ; but in the Lord, whose knowledge and peace are past man's understanding. And now I am ordered to put in the news- paper a part of a Prophecy given to me yester- day, for the public at large :— " I tell thee, that the ensuing year will be such a year as never was seen in England, since it was a nation ; for, if my commands are obeyed, that I send blessings to the nation, such as were never experienced before ; yet Satan's weapons will be strong, with rage and fury, to fight in men, till, like Sodom and Gomorrah, they will be destroyed, and swept away with the besom of destruction. But, from the days of Noah, there is a longer warning, to awaken those who are not so strongly filled with the devil against my coming to bring in my kingdom of righteousness and peace. Thy faith is given to thee as a gift of God, which the world can neither give thee, nor take it from thee : and they will find that the sound of thy Master's feet is behind thee." — This is the answer of the Lord to me. Joanna Southcott, Friday, Nov. 19, 181S 41 Letters of Prophecy, by Joanna Southcott, LETTER V. Though the Bishops are silent to the request made of them, and the warning given them, that they will not come forward to support the work, if it he of GOD, or to confute it, if not; yet I am informed that one of the Bishops hath said, that I have done more mischief than ever an individual had done before. I can scarcely credit the report to be true, that a Bishop should see it in this light, and not use his authority to stop the " mischief," when the power is put into his hands. I shall answer such Bishops, as the King's Jester once answered him. When a nobleman sent a petition to his majesty, to crave his pardon for a third murder he had committed, the king said to his jester, " I know not what to do concerning this man : he hath killed two men before, which I pardoned him for, and now he hath killed the third." The jester answerer], '< No, he has not Jailed three men; he has killed but one." His majesty asked him how he could make out that. The jester said, " if thou hadst had him hanged for the first man, he would never have killed ano- ther ; so thou hast killed the other two. " Ah!" said the king, " dost thou say so ? then he shall never kill another." — To this I was answered — " Now let the bishop be as wise as the king, or out of his own mouth will I condemn him; if he sees this mischief going on, and doth not stir to prevent it, when I have put it in his power, and he judge it is from the devil, he will find my anger kindled against him, if he still lets it go on. Will they surfer sin of the blackest dye to go on, and never stir one step to stop the torrent of this evil? 42 Then let them know that my judgments are just, to cut them off, as cumberers of the ground. If all should speak as thou hast heard of one, then out of their own mouths will I condemn them all : for they shall -find that thou art in perfect obedi- ence to my commands. And will they call this mischief? Then let them know my commands, which stand on record — be clear in judging that you may be just in condemning. And now to their consciences thou must appeal, whether they think it be right to see mischief spreading through- out the land, and they standing silent to have -it so, when it is put in their power to prevent it ? For, on one side or other the sin must be great ; because they must know, if thy visitation be from the Lord, and they call it mischief in thee to obey my commands ; then their sins must be great, for condemning my love in warning them of my coming to establish peace and righteousness on the earth. If this be despised, let them own the justice of my anger and indignation at the blas- phemy that is daily spoken against my visitation. " And this is my command to the bishops, if they wish to find favour in my sight, as I have in^ vested them with power, and commanded thee to appeal to them, let them exercise that power I have put in their hands. This is my command to thee, that thou put my answer in the newspaper, that they may see the justice of my threatenings, if all be treated with silent contempt." — This is the answer of the Lord to me." Joanna Southcott. Letters of Prophecy, by Joanna Southcott. LETTER VI. Mr. Editor, — I notice in your paper of the 26th instant, an answer to my letter on the 20th, Respecting my faith, by a writer, under the signa- 43 tureof " A Methodist," who expresses himself tq be the true Ephraim, wishing for instruction, and desirous of knowing whether my pretensions be a vain boasting of faith, upheld by applying the Scriptures to myself, or whether it be grounded on the Rock of Ages. These inquiries are just, therefore I shall an- swer a wise man according to his wisdom. I shall first say, as our Saviour did to John the Bap- tist, when he sent his disciples to know if he were the Christ. He said, go your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard ; and in like manner my answer is to Ephraim, that I have ex- perienced the truth of the spirit, which visits me from the year ninety-two to this day, of both pri vate and public events, concerning this nation and the surrounding nations; and these prophecies were first put into the hands of ministers from the year 1796 to J 800, for them to be witnesses of the truth being foretold. In the year 1801, 1 publish- ed to the world at large. In 1802, during the time of peace, I published what was hastening on, of the war that hath since taken place. And I can prove from rny writings, how these events were foretold, when there was no appearance of them. Therefore I may say with the woman of Samaria, behold the man that told me all things : tell me, is not this the Christ, who hath thus far fulfilled his words, in the past, and now given me strength of faith to insert prophecies in the public papers, of what shall happen in one year, accord- ing as men obey or disobey what is required of them? If they cannot judge from the past, they may judge from what is to come; therefore mine is no boasting faith, without knowing in whom I have believed, but a faith fixed on the Rock of Ages, with strong and sure ground to rely on, that no one knoweth of but myself. The world must judge me worse than mad, to insert such things 44 in the newspapers, if 1 had not a full assurance that what the Lord hath said he wit! fulfil. I have shewn my faith by my works, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against me. Now I shall notice another observation made by " A Methodist," where he says—" Would to heaven that myself and my brethren were invested with the authority, of the bishops, and we would soon search out the truth." To this I am answer- . ed — " Let him try his brethren, and he will find them like David's brethren, to condemn the pride of his heart; and like Ephraim, the pride of Israel to testify to his face : for they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for ail this-: therefore, if he puts his trust in man,' he will soon become like Ephraim, a silly dove without a heart; if he doth not put his trust in the Lord, and say with David, there is cause enough, (for he knoweth not what man is,) his brethren, like strangers, will devour his strength; therefore no trust can be put in man. But, if he be the true Ephraim, he wilt now apply himself to wisdom, and get understanding, and see that it is time to sow to yourselves in righteousness, to reap in mercy: break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you; then I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God, and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee." This is a prophecy given me for the true Eph- raim, who wishes to be clear in judging, before he condemns* Joanna Southcott. Tuesday, Nov. 30 3 1813. The following was sent to the Morning Herald, but the Editor objected to its, being inserted, 45 Letters of Prophecy, by Joanna Sou thee it. LETTER VII. The following are the words of the Lord re* specting the conduct of the Bishops. " Two months thou hast been warning the Bishops ; once by the private letter and book ; to which they were silent ; then I ordered thee to w r arn them in the public newspapers, and gave them liberty to come to thee ; or they might have sent to Pomeroy, and ordered him to come to thee, to convince thee that thy visitation was wrong, if the language of his heart was different from what thou hadst been informed of by me ; as then to his judgment thou must have given up ; for this power I put in their hands. But, as they have refused either to come to thee, to judge for theirselves, or to send for him to decide the cause ; I now tell thee, my appointed time is up ; and my strict command is now to thee to call Pomeroy forward, to answer, between God and his own conscience, whether the words are true or not, that I told thee concerning him. For, as he said that the Lord would bring thee into judg- ment for injuring his character, he shall know it is I the Lord who bringeth him. into judgment, to judge between the wisdom of man and the wis- dom of the Lord. Know, he said it was through the persecution and persuasions of men that h$ was made to destroy the letters which I ordered thee to put in his hands. Then now let him look to the words of the Apostle. 1 Cor. i. 19. — " For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. The world by wisdom knoweth not God." He hath followed the wisdom of the world ; thou hast rejected the wisdom of the world, to follow on to know the -Lord: thea know it is written, Ye shall know the Lord, if ye follow on to know him. And now, by the dif- ferent conduct of you two, shall the truth of this Scripture be established; to stand or fall. There- fore my answer must go into the public paper, that, as the Bishops have refused to come for- ward to be any judges of my visitation to thee, as it was required, so I now forbid them all from coming to thee, till thou hast had Pomeroy's an- swer. For it must now be decided between him and thee alone ; and when thou hast made every thing clear before him ; then let him pass his final judgment. And if he then say it is from the devil ; then to his judgment thou shalt give up thy cause ; and ask his pardon in the public paper, for disgracing his character, if he can prove that thou art wrong, and that he is right, in acting according to the wisdom of man. But this cannot be decided by letter : he must appear in person, and have every thing laid before him. But he will have none to contend with but thee only ; and thou shalt have none to contend with but him only, until he hath decided, which is wrong, and which is right. " And now, I tell thee, it will be fatal for him, if he now refuses to come forward, and judge for himself — to decide between him and thee : for in this he is called to judge between God and man. So that I have laid no heavy burden upon him, to contend with the great and learned, be- fore every thing is made clear before him. — And now let him call to his remembrance the Eleven Days, that I said were in store, to stay my heavy hand ; but he must not stay till they are up. This is my command to him. Let him hastily prepare for his journey, as soon as he receives the newspaper, which I have ordered thee to send to him. As the Bishops have not called him forward, let him know, I the Lord have 47 called him, to decide the truth of the Prophecy^ which I ordered thee to send to the Bishops." This warning is given from the Lord to me. Joanna Southcott Wednesday, Dec. 1st, 1SJ3. A Communication given, November 1 3th, 1813, in answer to a Text preached by the Rev. Mr. Pomeroy, in March, 1799. 1 Corinthians m. 11. " For other foundation -can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." I was ordered to mark what follows the text, in the 12th verse — " If any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, stubble ; every man's works shall be made- manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's works abide, which he hath built there- upon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's works shall be burned, he shall suffer loss ; but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire." The Answer of the Spirit. " Now I shall answer thee from this chapter, and begin from the building. See the different ways it is placed by the Apostle. Gold is one thing ; but know what is said of gold — dross may be found mixed with the gold, when it is tried by the fire ; and so a man's faith may be fixed upon the foundation of my Gospel, that no man can lay another foundation for his redemption, but by pleading my merit and mercies, to come and die for the redemption of man. Thus a man's faith may be built upon the Gospel, as gold ; yet when it comes to be tried, like gold, by the fire, there is some dross may be found amongst it 4 unless i< 48 be the true gold, that retained) no dross. Now come to silver, which is of less value, yet it may be a mark of some faith ; as ye see in the world at large, and among the professors of reli- gion, who say they believe that Christ came to die for the salvation of man, and that all was finished when he expired on the cross. Here the silver will not bear the fire, without much dross appearing, when I bring them back to my Gos- pel — that I came to seek and to save that which was lost — that by the fall man was lost — that I should come again and restore that loss — that I should take out of my kingdom all that offended and did wickedly — -that I died to overcome the world, and bring in the redemption of man — that I should send the Spirit of Truth to warn before my coming — that the Comforter should come, that should abide with you for ever. Now, where men have not this faith, the fine gold is be- come dim, and the silver is mixed with dross. But now come to the precious stone. There is no dross there: there is the pearl of great price: there is the elect precious : there is the faith fixed upon the Rock of Ages: there is the faith fixed, as I said in my Gospel, of a man's building his house upon a rock, that the storms beat, and the winds blew ; but it fell not; because it was builded upon the rock; and that rock was Christ — who was with Moses in the wilderness —who smote the rocks, #nd the waters gushed out — who sent the manna from heaven, and brought them that were obedient into the pro- mised land. " These were types and shadows of the first* And know, I have explained to thee already why the Beasts were ordered to be offered up, as sin- offerings, and as peace-offerings; and why I rencled the kingdom from Saul — because he did not destroy the Beasts, as I commanded. For thou know est, as a beast, Satan's curse was pro- 49 nounced, in the form of a serpent, to be above every beast. But when I come to bring in my kingdom ; then those who wish to preserve the Beast ^nd have him remain will have my kingdom rended from them, as I rended the kingdom from Saul. For as I ordered a Lamb to be slain, and the blood to be put on the posts of the doors, that it might be seen, when the destroying angel went through Egypt, when I delivered the children of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, that these stood but types and shadows of the end. And know from my Gospel, I came to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world: for as the blood of Abel crieth for vengeance, so the blood of Christ crieth for reconciliation ; therefore it is written by the prophets that the blood of bulls and goats will not do ; then said I, lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Then let them look to the creation, what was the will of God, when he created the woman ; what was the will of God, when he pronounced the curse upon the serpent, for betraying the woman. When the eyes of men's understanding are opened this to discern, and their faith is become like thine, they may say, he that trusteth in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, that cannot be moved : for as the hills stand round about Jerusalem, so the Lord standeth round about his people, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them — that he carries the lambs in his bosom, and gently leads those that are with young — that whosoever come unto me, I will in no wise cast them out— that I am the vfNE, and ye are the branches ; and if ye abide in me, ye shall bear much fruit : for I died to overcome the world, and raise up my true friends and followers in the last day; and then shall I freely give them all things. " This is the faith that is compared to the D 50 precious stone, built upon the foundation of my Gospel, which is Christ, the Rock of Ages, prophesied of by all the Prophets, that is spoken of in my Gospel, confirmed by the Apostles, and shewn to John, by visions, in the Revelations; and this is the Rock that I have given thee faith to build upon, that the gates of hell shall not pre- vail against. — " And now come to the following words — " wood, hay, stubble: every man's works shall be made manifest." Then now I ask thee, what is the use of wood ? Thou sayest, for many things : it is good for building ; it is good for shipping; it is good to make husbandry; it is good for the fire ; all kind of uses wood may be put to ; so that the wood is of use in various ways. But now I ask thee, what is the use of Hay? Thou sayest, for bullocks and horses; but of no use for christians, unless it were in a time of famine, they might contrive to eat that, in- stead of nothing. But as to the stubble, it is good for nothing but for fire, or to be cast as dung upon the earth. " Then now I shall answer thee. Like hay is my Gospel become to mankind ; for so great is the famine, throughout the nation, of the true sense and meaning of my Gospel, what 1 spoke of the end, when I come to fulfil it ; that I now tell thee, the fine Gold is become dim, the Silver is become dross, the Precious Stone is mocked and despised, the Wood remaineth to set it on fire ; which is now raging with the fury of hell, to des- troy the Precious Stone ; and my people are fed with hay and stubble. Thus will it be proved, when every man's work is tried j and therefore I shall kindle a fire the other way, to destroy the stubble; but the hay may remain to feed those whom thou hast compared to the beasts, for. want of knowledge, wisdom, or understanding: be- cause in this manner my people have been fed, 51 by men's keeping back the truth of my Gospel, what I spoke of the end. For this is the day that shall declare it; because it is revealed by fire-^by the fire of my love; by the fire of mine anger shall every man's works now be tried, of what sort their faith is : but those whose faith abides, which they have built hereupon, accord- ing to my Gospel, and what 1 have revealed to thee, they shall receive a reward of their faith. " And now I shall come to Pomeroy. He will suffer loss ; because he burned the work that was delivered to him. In this he suffered the loss of his honour at the first ; and thou knowest not what he hath suffered in the loss of his peace of mind ; but what thou knowest not now, thou wilt know hereafter. — But as the words are spoken by the Apostle, so shall it be unto him : he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire : he hath suffered the fire and indignation of mankind ; and thou knowest not what fire he hath suffered within, through fear and jealousy. Thou knowest thy own sufferings, when the fire hath burnt two ways in thy heart, with faith and fear : thus the heart knoweth its own bitterness, that a stranger doth not intermeddle with. So thou canst no more judge of his heart, what different passions have been working there ; or what fire, through jealousy, he hath felt, any more than he knoweth what thou hast felt. But now let him awake as one out of sleep ; let him see how the fine Gold is become dim; and the Silver become dross; that he hath not discerned the Precious Stone ; and therefore he burnt the works that were deli- vered to his hands ; and thereby he suffered the loss he complained of. This let him discern and turn unto me; then he will find I shall turn unto him; and he shall be saved by the fire of my love; because he suffered this loss by the fire of ♦Satan's malice, which he worked in men against d'2 52 him without, and the temptations laid strongly within. " Now come to the following words — " Know ye not that ye are the temples of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? But now I ask mankind, how they will prove that the Spirit of God dwelleth in them, to will, and to do of my good pleasure ; that the pleasure of the Lord hath prospered in their hands ? For I now tell thee, when men come to be this Temple of God, that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you, then my Spirit cannot be rejected, nor can my will be refused. " If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." " And now I shall answer thee, the meaning of these words. Know I have told thee, from my visitation to thee, that the Spirit of God dwelleth in thee, because I have brought thee conformable to all his will, to obey every com- mand I have given thee ; and my commandments are holy, just, and good, to the everlasting hap- piness of mankind. But now come to the unbe- lief of mankind. How are the words defiled by men ! how are they set at nought, as though they were from the devil ! This is defiling the temple of the living God, where my Spirit dwel- leth within. And let them discern further, how the rage of hell hath worked in men to be loving and making of lies, to defile thy character. Such I tell thee I shall destroy ; because I have said, that thy life is wholly dedicated to me; and in thee I shall do all my good pleasure. Therefore let no man deceive himself; if any man among you seem to be wise in this world, let him be- come a fool, that he may be wise; which meaneth, to acknowledge his own folly, wherein he erred, trusting to the wisdom of the world ; then he will clearly discern that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for, as it is written, he 53 taketh the wise in their own craftiness ; and again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain; therefore let no man glory in men. And now I ask thee, what glory he hath to boast of in men ; And yet I tell thee, in their craftiness they are now taken ; which will be to their own shame and confusion ; because the living must lay to heart what the dead hath done ; because I have already revealed to thee in what manner the craf- tiness began, and by whom. " And now come to the following chapter, which Hows was directed to. — (( I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make ma- nifest the counsels of the heart: and then shall every man have praise of God." " I shall answer the meaning of the words. It is not every man in the world that can or will have praise of God, in this judgment; but let them discern the words — The time is come, that the Lord hath revealed to thee (i the hidden things of darkness, and made known the counsels of the heart." So that these men, who come forward to pass just judgment, as I have commanded by thee, to be clear in judging, and just in condemning, and to judge between man and man, as I have made known the counsels ot the heart ; these that assemble together to pass just judgment, in the manner I have directed, they will all have praise of God. And therefore he may say with Paul, " It is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. He that judgeth me is the Lord." Thus far the Apostle's words are verified in him; because, thou knowest, I have judged him from his temptations, from his perse- cution, and from the craftiness of the wise ; and 54 as I have judged him, I will now justify him, if he condemn the wisdom of the world, by his own folly ; to caution every one to be careful how they trust to the wisdom of the wise, who trust to their own wisdom. And now let him look to the chapter through — " That ye might learn in tis, not to think of men, above that which is written. Let no one of you be puffed up, for one against another:" — for thus pride brought on the conten- tion ; because they were puffed up against him." The answer of the Spirit, why it was said that the Mysteries were hid from those I had been writing to in 1797. " Now I shall answer thee, why it was hid from them; — because of the pride of their hearts, who boasted of their wisdom, their learning, and their greatness ; and I knew with what contempt they looked upon one that was so mean and low as they judged thee : and therefore they judged the Lord another such as theirselves, without consi- dering that my ways are not as man's ways, nor my thoughts as man's thoughts: for as high as the heavens are from the earth, so far are my ways from man's way.?, and my thoughts from man's thoughts. And therefore it was hid from them, to bring down the pride of men. Let them look to my humility, when I took man's nature upon me: but how was my humility scorned by the jich and great, and by the learned, who boasted of their wisdom ! Therefore, marvel not in thy heart, that I should bring their wisdom to the ground, by concealing from them any know- ledge of my ways, or my goings, before I bring it like the noon-day sun before them, that they may acknowledge they could not trace my footstep: for to them it was hid, as in the great deep ; and my paths past man's finding out: then, what have men to boast of? Know it is written, " Let not, 55 the wise man boast of his wisdom, nor the strong man boast of his strength; neither let the rich man boast of his riches :" for riches have wings and fly away : and to him that I gave knowledge and strength of understanding, to trace my foot- steps in many things, but see how soon he lost his strength, and became weak, like other men ! And know the others, who boasted of their wisdom and learning, where is their wisdom gone now ! Can men of wisdom plead in their behalf? In thy heart thou answerest, no : then let them come to my Gospel, and acknowledge that, without me, they can do nothing; that every good and perfect gift must come down from the Father of light, in whom there is no variableness nor the shadow of turning: and, to prove the truth of the Scriptures, I said it was hid from them. Isaiah, xxix. 13 — 16. " Wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people drew near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men ; therefore behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a mar- Tellous work and a wonder : for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understand- ing of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, who seeth us ? and who knoweth us ? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? or shall the thing formed say of him that formed it, he had no understanding ?" " This I tell thee men have been trying to do : they have been turning of things upside down ; for they have been placing good for evil, and evil for good ; they thought to hide their counsels from the Lord, thinking none saw them, or heard 56 them : but as none can hide his counsel from mU,. I have revealed their counsel to thee, and how they wanted to make thee say, he that made thee, and revealed my will unto thee, had no under- standing. Thus men have tried to make the lan- guage of thy heart, that thou shouldest condemn thy Creator, as they have done ; to say the Lord could never have formed things in this manner ; because there was no understanding in his goings, in the manner thou art directed. And this is the language thou hast heard to day, from the man who calleth himself Ephraim; and who advised thee to make the devil thy friend ; but I tell thee, such men's destruction is sure, without hasty and bitter repentance. I shall frustrate the tokens of such liars, and make such diviners mad, and turn their wisdom back upon their own heads, and make their knowledge foolishness. Isaiah, xliv. 25. For I tell thee, the most hardened sinner upon earth, that doeth the will of the devil in all things, thinking thereby to make him a friend, they will but find him the greater their enemy; because 1 shall give him full power over them* Therefore I tell thee, Satan's suggestions, to come in that manner and work upon the minds of men, thinking they shall be favoured by making Satan their friend, will only kindle my wrath and indig- nation against them, to give them wholly into the power of their adversary, which is the devil. " So now let such fools take care, for I have shewn them what their end will be: for many such fools will now arise. Know in what man- ner Satan pleaded with thee, how great thou shouldest be in hell, if those worshippedst him ; and so in like manner will he now plead with many, to harden them on in sin. Therefore it is written, " woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil is come down unto yon, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." So marvel not in thy 57 heart that he worketh in men to persecute thee : and this persecution will increase. " But now I shall come to the chapter, where these rnad diviners are mentioned. From the words of the Prophet ye may see the end. Let men begin the chapter, and read it through. — And now come to the last verse — " That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built ; and to the temple, thy foundation shall be laid." — Here were things spoken of Cyrus, as a Shadow then to the Jews ; but the Substance re- mains for the end : the fulfilment of Cyrus was never yet accomplished. And to bring men to dis- cern the Scriptures clearly, I have spoken many things of the Archdeacon and the Chancellor's being convinced of their errors, which thou hast been stumbled at ; because they are no more, and were not convinced. But know J have spoken of them two ways ; and one way thou hast seen fulfilled by the dead ; and I now tell thee, the other way, thou wilt see it perfectly fulfilled, by an Archdeacon and a Chancellor, to blame their conduct, as I told thee they would blame their- selves. So what was not fulfilled in them, thou wilt see fulfilled in others : and so they will find from the words of the Prophet, in the xlv. chap- ter, what was not fulfilled by Cyrus will now be fulfilled. For now they shall look unto me, and be saved all the ends of the earth. Thus will I go on, till the words of the Prophets are accomplished : for I said I came not to destroy the Law of God or the Prophets, but to fulfil them. And let them see what I spoke in the Gospel, of the Son of Man, of my Stewards, and of my Servants. " And now I shall come to the words of the Prophet, and bring it back to the Jews and the Gentiles. Isaiah, liv. 5, 6, " For thy Maker is thine husband (the Lord of Hosts is his name) 58* and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God." Isaiah, 1. 1.— " Thus saith the Lord, where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have you sold yourselves, and for your transgression is your mother put away." Isaiah, li. 17. — " Awake, awake, stand up, Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury ; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth ; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons that she hath brought up." " Now come to the Revelation, the last chap- ther — " The Spirit and the Bride say, come : and let him that heareth say, come : and let him that is athirst, come: and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." " Now I shall answer thee from these Scrip- tures, and bring it back to the Jews, and bring it out to the Gentiles, as ye call yourselves of the Gentiles, without knowing what stock ye sprang from. — But now come to my sayings, that I said 1 came to fulfil the words of the Prophets ; and come to the words. of the Apostle : Galatians, iv. 1. — " Now I say, that the Heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant though he be lord of all." Hebrews, i. 1, 2. — " God who at sundry times and divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world." 59 Titus, hi. 6, 7.—" Which he shed on us abun- dantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour : that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." " Now I shall answer thee, from these Texts of Scripture, which I ordered thee to bring to- gether. I have already explained to thee the meaning of the Prophet's words — " the Lord of Hosts is thy husband :" but now I shall call thee back to the Jews ; for there ye may come to the shadow; because I was born of the Woman, without an earthly Father. This men may place to the Jews, without considering that she was espoused to an husband ; therefore she could not be called according to the words of the Prophet ; and yet, I tell thee, from the Woman's being put away, saying, where is the bill of your mother's divorcement ? this alludes to the Jews, as a sha- dow of the beginning ; for, through unbelief, my mother was put away as an adultrous woman, being divorced For though I have ordered thee to bring these chapters together, yet, I tell thee, they have not one likeness ; because one alludes to the Jews, the other to the Gentiles. For as an adultrous woman, being put away from her hus- band, the Jews through unbelief put away my Mother ; and it was for their iniquities that she was put away. Therefore, it is for the transgression of the Jews, and for their unbelief, that my Mother was put away from them, as not being acknowledged by them. For, when I came, there was no man ; when I called, there was none to answer ; because they did not believe the report, that I came to redeem Israel ; or that I had any power to deliver them. For, though I rebuked the winds and the storms ; and. the seas gave up to me ; though I walked upon the seas, as upon dry ground ; though I worked. miracles, by the fishes, to fill, their nets that they broke; and though I feci five thousand with the 60 five loaves and the two small fishes ; yet all this was but as stink in their nostrils — forgotten, like the miracles I wrought in Egypt : and though I made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk ; yet all my miracles were despised by them ; they went on like the children in the wilderness, who murmured, because they were not immediately delivered, and brought into the promised land ; as they expected that an imme- diate deliverance should be wrought for them, without having any trouble or difficulties them- selves; or without being put to the trial of their love, a trial of their faith, or a trial of their obedience, they expected to be Abraham's chil- dren, and to have the promise made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, without having Abraham's faith, Abraham's trial, and Abraham's obedi- ence. This they expected in the wilderness, and went on murmuring and complaining, till they provoked me to anger to destroy their fathers, who came out of Egypt ; for which reason none but Joshua and Caleb, that came out of Egypt, ever possessed the promised land. Yet I did not return the iniquities of the fathers upon the chil- dren, but brought them into the land of Canaan. Here let them look to the wilderness, how I smote the rocks and the waters gushed out ; how I sent manna from heaven, and they were fed with angels' food ; yet, for all this, they were un- thankful; but expected great blessings, that I should shew in love to them, while they shewed no love to me ; therefore I destroyed them in the wilderness. " Here was I their spiritual guide, their spi- ritual teacher, by the hand of Moses : and I came down in the bush amongst them, to shew myself to Moses their teacher ; but when I saw the perverseness of their hearts, and knowing the temptations they had from the devil, after trying man for more than four thousand vears, I took 61 man's nature upon me ; I became flesh and blood to dwell with men ; and like man I became an infant of days, to be born of the woman. Here I became in all things like man, to suffer tempta- tions, to suffer persecution ; to resemble man's weakness, by hiding myself. All this I have done, to be a judge of the infirmities of man, that I might be a judge of what man had to go through, and a clear judge of the different conduct in mankind. Thus as man I took his nature upon me, in the flesh ; but not in the spirit. And as man I became the prophet — I clothed the hea- vens with blackness, and I made sackcloth their covering, when I found myself despised and re- jected of men ; I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair ; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. " Thus as man I bore all the reproach of man; and I bore it all for man, that I should come again in power to destroy the works of the devil. There- fore all shall wax old as a garment ; the moth shall eat them up, because they have kindled a fire that compasses theirselves about ; with sparks of fire, walking in the light of their own fire, and in the sparks that they have kindled : this shall they have of my hand : they shall lie down in borrow. — This hath been already to the Jews ; because they walked in the light of their own fire ; and rejected the fire of my love to come and un- dertake man's cause for him, to become flesh and dwell with them. But this wisdom, this mercy, this goodness, and this love to mankind, were despised and rejected ; because they did not look to their everlasting happiness ; neither did they consider the shortness of time, how soon the moth would eat them up, and how soon they might go down with sorrow to their graves — to meet the master they had served, and the devil whom they had obeyed. Therefore I told them their dangers, in my Gospel ; I told them the dif- m ferent rewards to the righteous and to the wicked ; I told them I came to seek and to save that which was lost ; that I came to be a light to man- kind, for their everlasting happiness in time and eternity: but they refused to walk in the light; and the fire of my love was despised by them ; so I left them to walk in the Sparks of fire they had kindled themselves: for I told them the destruc- tion that should come upon them, that their holy city should be destroyed, that they should be scattered in all nations. This 1 told them should be their end, if they rejected my offers of love ? to gather them together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings. " But know what I said to my friends and fol- lowers — who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant? For I said, as a, servant I came amongst them, to be a ser- vant to mankind, and to do the will of my Fa- ther : for, as a servant doeth every thing to wait upon his master, to make him comfortable, to take the trouble and burthen from him ; so did I come amongst mankind, to take the burthen and load from them, which is the burthen of sin and sorrow. And therefore I said, they that walked in darkness, and had no light, let them trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon their God : for he that was near that justified me, was near to justify my friends and followers likewise; and therefore I told them, that the Lord would be with them, as he had been with me : for they should be assisted by my Spirit and my Power : and my power I gave unto them, by the Holy Ghost ; and I filled them with love for me, as I was filled in love for them. Thus did I do unto them that hearkened to my voice : and they went on in my likeness, to give their backs to the smi- ters ; for they did not regard the reproach of men. So in one likeness, when I took mans na- ture upon me, my faithful friends and followers 63 took up the cross to follow me, and went on bearing the reproach of men. Then now, who is he that contendeth with me ? let us stand together. Who is mine adversary ? let him come near to me. For now is the time when my adversary shall be destroyed ; and those that walk in the sparks of their own fire, which is of anger being kindled by the devil, such will be destroyed by the fire of my anger ; be- cause theirs is kindled by the fire of hell ; but those that are kindled by the fire of love shall now be saved by the fire of my love. " And now come to the following chapter, Isaiah liv. — " Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness ; ye that seek the Lord, look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged ; look unto Abra- ham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you ; for I called him alone, and blessed him, and in- creased him." " Now let the wisdom of the world appear, And let the wise men answer here, How the true Heirs can ever come ? Is Abraham mentioned here alone ? Did not the woman bear the Son That they were all to look unto, As well as Abraham, they must know t Because the rock it first was me : I gave them faith, you all may see ; And in old age I gave a son, To shew what 1 for faith had done. When their obedience had been tried, It was to Abraham, 'tis applied, That be should offer up that Son ; — And in his heart the deed was done. So there's the promise at the first, That in the end I'll make it burst. " So now the Je.ws they must appear To own their mother mention'd here, That I was born to set them free, An Abraham's promise for to see ; But does the promise stand alone ? No : 'tis the woman bore the Son, 64 That they are bid to look unto — I speak to Gentiles and to Jews : The mother she must first appear To bring the Isaac, — men, see clear ; But after Isaac he was bound, Know then a wife for him was found, To bring the Heirs I said I'd bless, And so on Jacob it should rest. " These are but shadows past and gone 5 For, like the autumn, all became To have these leaves to fly away ; The trees stript bare, you all do see, And scarce a leaf doth now appear, But what seem dead and wither d here, But I have told thee, like the spring, These leaves again to man I'll bring; For they shall all bud out anew, And men shall find my words are true, " The Esaus I shall all destroy ; The Jacob's I shall now enjoy; And so the Josephs shall appear — The banish'd prisoners now I'll clear; Because my wonders shall come on — Thou'st felt my power, thou'st felt it strong* Which is but cords of love to thee. When thou wast filled with jealousy, No God in power could now appear, As in the Scripture's mention'd there, The bowels of the earth to shake ; Because that way I said I'd break — " For the pillars of heaven shall be shaken, and the foundation of the earth shall tremble. A part of this book is copied from the Sealed Writings, and the remainder from answers given by the Spirit at the time when the book was wri- ting, and taken from Joanna South cott's mouth by me, Ann Underwood. Witness, Jane Town ley. December 3, 1813. [Price One Shilling and Threepence.]