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A. Your schools, your sacraments, your sabbath, your studies by men, your ministers at your schools, you have made since the apostles, and not by the Lord, but among yourselves, who are apostatized from his spirit; for the apostles had not schools. And the apostle said, 'let no man judge you in meats or drinks, new moons, and sabbath days, &c. for the body is Christ,' and he brought them off from these services to Christ, the substance, the body, who ended the sabbath days, and the offerings upon them, who was before days, who is the rest for his people, and did not bring people into days, but into Christ, by whom all things were made, who was Lord of the sabbath. And such meet on the first day of the week, and are taught of God, and outstrip all your teachers made in schools, and by the learning of men; and so are not of man, nor by man, but the outward schools are of men, and by men. P. You say, The fifth commandment enjoins you to yield obedience to the faithful commandments of them that are over you, and the catechism.'

A. The fifth commandment enjoins that men should obey the command of God, not of men, nor the catechism, nor such stuff as is in this catechism, but they who are come to Christ come to the end of the commandments, the end of the law, him by whom the world was made, and who was before it was made.

P. You say, 'The meaning of the seventh commandment is, that you should live temperate, modest, and chaste, and holy in wedlock.'

A. Is this so, have you not broken wedlock both with God and man, and lost the chaste virgin state; and so got up into intemperance, immodesty, unchasteness, into uncleanness, and filthiness, and so show by your fruits that you neither come to keep this commandment, nor to Christ the end of it?

P. You say, The eighth commandment doth not only forbid robbery, but covetousness after other men's goods, evil, witchcraft, devices to seek after other men's goods.'

A. Then are you not all found in this seeking and endeavouring by force after other men's goods, and hath not this been much of your practice both by sea and land, of many people in the whole Christendom, who have been found in this witchcraft you speak of? and is not all this to be judged with the spirit of the Lord God to be out of his commands, and out of the love of God and Christ the end of the law? Therefore repent, and amend all your ways, doings, and lives, that you may return to the Lord, and find peace and rest in the time of need.

P. You say, "The ninth commandment saith, bear not false witness against any man, and you should shun lying, and not falsify any man's

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you are forgiven that do not forgive others? whether you have the assurance within you?

for

P. You say, 'The particle amen, means the things sure, out of doubt, your prayers are much more certainly heard of God, than you feel in your hearts that you unfeignedly desire the same.'

A. Amen, or so be it, for the promise is to the seed, yea and amen, which fetches up the seed out of time who hath been in prison in time, and brings it by the power of God where there is no time, and there is yea and amen; and the Lord accepts no prayer from the corrupt heart, or such whose works are sinful, whose best works are sinful, for it is the praying, preaching, singing, hearing, tasting, discerning, handling, and feeling in the spirit the Lord accepts. The Lord knows the mind of the spirit, where it groans, which spirit guiding the man, gives him an understanding of the signification of it, and so every man being reproved with the spirit, if he hears it and is in unity with it, and turns to it, it will bring him to turn to God, and be at unity with God, and here his prayers are acceptable to him; and so every man being enlightened that comes into the world, every man that turns to the light Christ hath enlightened him with, is turned to Christ, from whom it comes, which brings him to know Christ, and to ask in his name, who is the way to the Father, and is in the Father, who is God, Emmanuel, Christ Jesus, and so forth, to the end.

Robert Tuchin, John Barnes, Edward Buckler, Robert Dingly, James Crosswick, John Martin, Vincent Sparke, Joshua Tompkins, Simon Pole, Thomas Clarke, William Harby, Martin Wells, William Bignall, Richard Beminster, Matthew Herne. Their principles are as followeth, who are teachers in and about the Island of Wight; and these fifteen priests are in the rear of the army of Babylon against the Lamb.

P. THAT the good things, which the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ brings to sinners, was first heard at Jerusalem.'

A. The gospel, which is the power of God, which is the glad tidings to sinners, was preached to Abraham, before ever it was heard at Jerusalem, and the shepherds in the field received the message of the good tidings of the glorious gospel from the angel, which was sent to them of the Lord; who said, Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,' and this was before the gospel was heard at Jerusalem. And all the fathers and prophets, that heard the power of God, heard the gospel; for the gospel is the power of God, glad tidings to the seed, and

with Christ's ministers, for their knowledge was in the spirit, and what they knew, was in, and through the spirit, and they were changed in nature. And their light, which was Christ, was above nature, and beyond nature, and not eclipsed thereby; neither were they chained up in a cave of darkness, but were as candles lighted, and as a city set on a hill that could not be hid, and they delivered forth to the world the pure truths of the gospel of Christ, which were not stained nor polluted, but pure and holy. And in that you take notions to be substance, and substance to be shadows, this is your great ignorance and blindness; but thus do not the true ministers of Christ, neither are their eyes dim, but the Lord is their light, and this promise is fulfilled to his ministers whom he hath sent, the Lord is become their everlasting light; but to you his promise is not fulfilled, whose eyes are dim, and sloth great, and heedlessness inexcusable; as it was with the false prophets and dreamers of old, whom the Lord never sent, and thus it is with these fifteen priests, according to their own confession! But the ministers of Christ were not so, neither were they in sin, nor in ignorance, but had received the knowledge of God, and were known of him; and if the minister be sinful, he is not sent of God, but hath run and never was sent, and his doctrine is despised, and not profitable, for scripture in the mouth of the devil, is but a temptation, no more is the doctrine of sinful men, as taught by them; for if the minister be sinful, he cannot convert sinners to God, nor turn them from darkness to light, nor from satan's power to O God, which is the work of the true ministers that have received the gift of the holy ghost; as it is manifest these men have not by their own confession.

P. We are presented with a necessity of acknowledging that the light of the moon with us is as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun as the light of seven days.'

A. How doth this confession of yours answer to your last? Let all wise and sober people judge, how confusion hath uttered forth itself. What! your light eclipsed, and you chained up in a cave of darkness, and your eyes dim, and yet the light of the sun with you as the light of seven days! Is there any thing in both these confessions, except ignorance, and a heap of confusion, and plain contradictions, that all may see your own confusions, out of your own mouths? But to them who are come to the fulfilling of the promises of God where the light of the sun is as the light of seven days, sin and iniquity are blotted out, and transgression is done away, and life and immortality are brought to light, and the glory of the Lord is revealed; and they that are in this promise, are come out of the apostacy, and out of the beast's kingdom of darkness, where you yet remain, as is manifest; for you are such as Christ said should come, and as John saw were come, who went into VOL. III.

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