ings up and down, for I travelled into Yorkshire, and returned out of Holderness, over Humber, visiting friends; and then returning into Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, among friends, I had a meeting at Edge-hill, that was very rude. There came to it ranters, baptists, and several sorts of rude people, for I had sent word about three weeks before to have a meeting there, so that many hundreds of people were gathered thither, and many friends came far to it. And the Lord's everlasting truth and word of life reached over all, that all the rude people and unruly spirits were chained down; and many that day were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, by his power and Spirit, and came to sit under his blessed, free teaching, and to be fed with his eternal, heavenly food. All was quiet and peaceable, and the people passed quietly away, and some of them said it was a mighty powerful meeting, for the presence of the Lord was felt, and his power and Spirit amongst them.

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From hence I passed to Warwick and to Bagley, having precious meetings; and from thence into Gloucestershire, and so to Oxford, where the scholars were very rude; but the Lord's power came over them and great meetings we had up and down as we travelled. Then I went to colonel Grimes's, where there was a very large meeting, and from thence to Nathaniel Crips's, where there came another justice to the meeting, who was also convinced; and he lay with me there. At Cirencester also we had a meeting, which since is much increased, and so we came to Evesholme again, where I met John Cam.

Thus having travelled over most part of the nation, I returned to London again, having cleared myself of that which lay upon me from the Lord. For after I was released out of Launceston-gaol, I was moved of the Lord to travel over most parts of the nation, the truth being now spread, and finely planted in most places, that I might answer, and remove out of the minds of people some objections, which the envious priests and professors had raised and spread abroad concerning us. For what Christ said of false prophets and antichrists coming in the last days, that they applied to us, and said we were they.

Therefore was I moved to open this through the nation, and to shew that they who said that we were the false prophets, antichrists and deceivers, that should come in the last days were indeed themselves they. For when Christ told his disciples in the 7th and 24th of Matthew, that false prophets and antichrists should come in the last times, and (if it were possible) should deceive the very

elect; he said "By their fruits ye shall know them :" for they should be inwardly ravening wolves, having the sheep's clothing. "And" said he, "do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" as much as to say, their na ture and spirit should be like a thorn, or like a thistle. And he bid his disciples not go after them: but before the disciples were deceased, the antichrists, false prophets and deceivers were come. For John in his first epistle said, "Little children, it is the last time and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time." So here, as Christ said to his disciples they should come, the disciples saw they were come : as may be seen at large in Peter, Jude, John, and other places of scripture; "whereby," says John, "we know it is the last time." And this last time was above sixteen hundred years since. John said, "they went out from us;" the false prophets, antichrists, seducers, and deceivers, went out from the church: "but you," said he to the church, "have an anointing, which abideth in you; and you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of ail things: and as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." Christ said to his disciples, "Go not after them (for they are inwardly ravening wolves): " and John exhorts the saints to the anointing within them; and the rest of the apostles exhort the churches to the grace, the light, the truth, the spirit, the word of faith, and to Christ in their hearts, the hope of glory. Christ told the saints that the spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost, should be their leader into all truth; and Jude exhorts the church to pray in the Holy Ghost, and to be built up on their most holy faith, which Christ was the author of. Christ, by his servant John, exhorted the seven churches to hear what the Spirit said to the churches, and this was an inward, spiritual hearing. Christ says, the inwardly-ravening wolves should have the sheep's clothing: Paul speaks of some in his time, that had a form of godliness, but denied the power: John said, they went out from us: Jude said, they go in Cain's way, and in Baalam's, and Corah's way. By all which it may be clearly seen, that the false prophets and antichrists, which Christ foretold should come, the apostles saw were come; and in their day it was the last time; and these went forth from them into the world, and the world went after them. These were the foremen, the leaders of the world, that brought them into a form of godliness, but inwardly ravened from the power and spirit. These have the sheep's cloathing, the words of Christ, of the prophets, and of the apostles;

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but are inwardly ravened from the power and spirit that they were in who gave forth the scriptures. These have made up the beast and the whore! These have gotten the dragon's power, the murdering, destroying, persecuting power! And these are they that the world wonders after! These have drunk the blood of the martyrs, prophets, and saints, and persecuted the true church into the wilderness! These have set up the false, compelling worships, and have drunk the blood of the saints, that will not drink of their cup! These have made the cage for the unclean birds, that have their several unclean notes in their cage; which cage is made up by the power of darkness, and unclean ghost and the birds of the cage deny the Holy Ghost, and power of God, which the apostles were in, to be now manifested in the saints! Thus since Christ said the false prophets and antichrists should come, and the apostle said they were come, the beast's and the dragon's worship hath been set up; and the whore is got up with her false prophets, and her cage hath been made, and all nations have drunk of her cup of fornication; and the blood of the martyrs and saints they have drunk, and the true church hath fled into the wilderness: and all this since the apostles' days. And yet the blind deceivers of all sorts, the antichrists and false prophets of our age tell us, and would make us and people believe, that the false prophets, antichrists and deceivers are come but now, though John and other of the apostles tell us, they were come above sixteen hundred years ago; and ye may see what work and confusion they have made in the world; how much blood these Cains have drunk that went in Cain's way, which blood cries to God for vengeance upon Christendom! And how these Baalams, that have erred from the power and spirit which the apostles were in, have coveted after other men's estates, the many jails, courts, and spoilings of goods will bear witness. And how the Corahs have gainsayed the life, and power, and spirit, which the apostles and true church were in, and the free teaching of Christ and of his apostles, and the work of their ministry, which was to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, hath been evident.

Therefore in the name and power of the Lord Jesus was I sent to preach again the everlasting gospel, which had been preached before unto Abraham, and in the apostles' days, and was to go over all nations, and to be preached to every creature. For as the apostacy hath gone over all nations since the apostles' days, so that the nations are become as waters, unstable, being gone from Christ the foun

dation; so must the gospel, the power of God, go over all nations again. Now we find the false prophets, antichrists, deceivers, whore, false church, beast, and his worship in the dragon's power, to have got up in the times betwixt the apostles and us. For Christ said, they should come; and the apostles saw they were come, and coming in their days; and that they went forth from them, and the world went after them. And now hath the Lord raised us up beyond them, and set us over them in the everlasting gospel, the power of God; that as all have been darkened by the beast, whore, false prophets, and antichrists, so the everlasting gospel may be preached again by us to all nations, and to every creature, which will bring life and immortality to light in them, that they may see over the devil and his false prophets, antichrists, seducers, and deceivers, and over the whore and beast, and before they were. This message of the glorious everlasting gospel was I sent forth to declare and publish, and thousands by it are turned to God, having received it; and are come into subjection to it and into the holy order of it. And since I have declared this message in this part of the world, and in America, and have written books of the same, to spread it universally abroad; the blind prophets, and preachers, and deceivers, have given over telling us the false prophets should come in the last times: for a great light is sprung up, and shines over their heads; so that every child in truth sees the folly of their sayings.

Then they got other objections against us, and invented shifts to save themselves from truth's stroke. For when we blamed them for taking tithes, which came from the tribe of Levi, and were set up here by the Romish church, they would plead, that Christ told the scribes and pharisees they ought to pay tithes of mint, annise, and cummin, though they had neglected the weightier matters; and that Christ said, the scribes and pharisees sate in Moses's seat, therefore all that they bid you do, that do and observe. And when we told them they were envious, persecuting priests, they would reply, that some preached Christ of envy, and some of contention, and some of good-will. Now these scriptures, and others such like they would bring to darken the minds of their hearers, and to persuade them and us, that we ought to do as they say, though they themselves were like the pharisees; and that we should rejoice when envious men and men of strife preached Christ; and that we should give them the tithes, as the Jews did to the tribe of Levi. These were fair glosses; and here was a great heap of husks, but no kernel. Now

this was their blindness for the Levitical priesthood Christ hath ended, and disannulled the commandment that gave them tithes, and the law, by which those priests were made. And Christ did not come after that order, neither did he send forth his ministers after that order; for those of that order were to take tithes for their maintenance; but his ministers he sent forth freely. And as for hearing the pharisees, and the Jews paying tithes of mint, annise, and cummin, that was, before Christ was sacrificed and offered up and the Jews were then to do the law, and perform their offerings and sacrifices, which the jewish priests did teach them. But after that Christ was offered up, he bid them then go into all nations and preach the gospel; and Lo,' said he, I will be with you to the end of the world:' and in another place he saith,' I will be in you.' So he did not bid them go to hear the pharisees then, and pay tithe of mint, annise, and cummin then; but go preach the gospel, and believe in the Lord Jesus, and be saved, and receive the gospel, which would bring people off from the Jews, and the tithes, and the Levitical law, and the offerings thereof, to Christ, the one offering, made once for them all. O what work had the apostle with both the Galatians and the Romans, to bring them off the law to the faith in Christ!

And as for the apostle's saying some preached Christ of envy and strife, &c. that was at the first spreading of Christ's name abroad, when they were in danger not only to be cast out of the synagogues, but to be stoned to death, that confessed to the name of Jesus, as may be seen by the uproars that were among the Jews and Diana's worshippers at the preaching of Christ. So the apostle might well rejoice, if the envious, and men of strife and contention, did preach Christ at that time, though they thought thereby to add affliction to his bonds: but afterward, when Christ's name was spread abroad, and many had gotten a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof, envious, proud, contentious men, men of strife, covetous men, teachers for filthy lucre, the apostles commanded the saints to turn from them, and not to have any fellowship with them. And the deacons and ministers were first to be proved, to see if they were in the power of godliness; and the Holy Ghost made them overseers and preachers. So it may be seen how the priests have abused these scriptures for their own ends, and have wrested them to their own destruction to justify envious, contentious men, and men of strife. Whereas the apostle says, the man of God must be patient, and apt to teach; and they were to follow Christ, as they