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Here followeth a declaration what the whole armour of God is, and what is meant by the wilderness; and a description of the wild beasts I fought with, after the manner of men, in the wilderness, as I was journeying and travelling towards the heavenly Canaan, in those six years' time, from the year 1662, to the year 1668, concerning my travels through the spiritual wilderness of men's hearts in mortality, towards the spiritual and heavenly land of Canaan. As followeth :

It was the good pleasure of God to chuse me one of his two last prophets and witnesses of the Spirit, to declare that great mystery of God being become flesh, or God being made flesh, as the Scripture saith; and for that purpose the Lord God did give me understanding of his mind in the Scriptures, above all men in the world at this day; which thing hath been made manifest, and is clear to many, by those writings set forth by John Reeve and myself; this commission given of God unto me, it was the third day of February, 1651. And then I was chosen of God to be John Reeve's mouth, as Aaron was to be Moses' mouth; and as Aaron's rod in his hand did smite the earth and waters of Egypt, in the natural, it brought many natural plagues upon the Egyptians; and Aaron's rod swallowed up the Egyptians' rods; so hath this commission of the Spirit caused spiritual plagues to fall upon many despising spirits, upon their souls and bodies to eternity; and when they have cast down many curses upon me, I have cast down but one curse upon them, and it hath swallowed up all their curses, so that none are to be seen; and the curse I have cast down is but one curse to them, and it hath swallowed up all their curses, so that none are to be seen; and the curse that I cast down, it doth remain alone upon all serpentine spirits of men and women.

Also it is recorded in Scripture that Moses and Aaron went through the natural wilderness towards the promised

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land of Canaan, a temporal land, yet a type of the spiritual and heavenly Canaan; and much trouble and opposition did they undergo in the wilderness, with the seed of the serpent; yet they being armed with the armour of God, even the commission of God that was put upon them; as upon Aaron the mitre of salvation was set upon his head, the breast-plate of holiness and righteousness was tied fast to his breast: the ephod of prophecy was as a white garment down to his feet; and the holy oil of wisdom and understanding was poured upon his head it wet not his beard alone, but it drenched his beard throughout; and finally, it did run down his skirts. and rich attire throughout, signifying the soundness of doctrine and integrity of life being the Urim and Thummim. This was the armour of God, put upon Moses and Aaron in that commission of the law; and this preserved them from all their enemies that forty years in the wilderness, as they journeyed toward that temporal land of Canaanee

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So likewise hath God, in these last times, chosen John Reeve and myself his two last prophets and witnesses of the Spirit, to lead the Israelites indeed into the spiritual and heavenly land of Canaan, which the other was antype, of, that is, all true believers of this commission of the Spirit, might enter into eternal rest; that is, to have the assurance. of everlasting life in themselves; this is true rest in the soul of man, which many can witness at this day. And let it not seem strange, or hard, or a thing impossible in these our days, for men and women in the assurance of everlasting life abiding in them here in this life, for many can witness the truth of it: for true faith is the evidence of things not seen by the eye of reason, but by the eye of faith only ha

Also I read in the Scripture, that the apostles were cloathed with the whole armour of God in their commission of the gospel, as Moses and Aaron was in their commission of the law, and that many believing Israelites did enter into their rest, that is, had the asurance of everlasting life in themselves, and so did enter into the paradise of God, sand into the spiritual rest and heavenly Canaan, that all true believers doth enter into in this life, this is that paradise the thief on the cross did enter into that very day he believed on Christ,

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And that the reader may understand that all commissionated men that are chosen of God, hath the whole armour of God put upon them, that they may be made able to encounter with all wild beasts, like men, without them, who are yet in the wilderness, and not entered into their rest, as it was with Moses and Aaron, as aforesaid; so it was with the prophets afterwards, how did they fight in the name of the Lord with lion-like men, dragons, tigers, serpents, scorpions, in the time of their commission b rober# to its vień sunt bung And the apostles having the whole armour put upon them, as you may see, Rom. xiii. 12. Paul exhorteth the Romans that believed his doctrine of Christ, to put off the works of darkness, and to put on the armour of light. Now what the works of darkness were, are expressed in the words before; and what the armour of light is, it is expressed in the words following. So in 2 Cor. ver. 7. Paul showeth how the apostles of Christ and true believers were endued with the word of truth, and by the power of God, and by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, made able to encounter with all enemies within themselves and without, as may be seen in the words before and after in that chapter.

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Also you may see Ephes. vi. from the 10th to the 17th ver. Paul exhorting all true believers of his gospel, to put on the whole armour of God, the words are these as followeth, beginning at the 10th verse, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ver. 11. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ver. 12, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ver. 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ver. 14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness. Ver. 15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Ver. 16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ver. 17. And

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take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

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Here the reader may see, that the true apostles, and the true believers of them, were armed with the whole armour of God, which made them able to stand, and to encounter with all wicked principalities of religion, which were become spiritual wickednesses in high places; and as principalities and powers which became as rulers in the darkness of men's minds, to worship stocks and stones, as the Ephesians did the goddess Diana; and as your heathen philosophers and poets, who did imagine God to be the spirit and life of every creature; and so by consequence they conclude that God is nothing else but nature, and so doth adore an infinite unknown Being of beings, as the Quakers doth, and so they worship the creature more than the Creator, as the Quakers doth for the heathen God is in them as they imagine, their own life being the life of God, thinking God to be the earth, the waters, the elements, the air; so they live, and more and more have their being in God. 56 pou you di Cire id look

So the Quakers' Christ within them is so big to fill heaven, earth; the air, and all the Quakers' bodies besides; for the philosophers, heathen poets, and the Quakers' God is all one God, for neither of them will own that God hath a person or body of his own, not now, hereafter, nor never had; also the apostles did encounter by this armour of God, with the sect of the Sadducees, who denieth any resurrection of a body after death; and with the Pharisee, who was tied to the observation of the ceremonial law of Moses; these were principalities and powers, and spiritual wickednesses that did rule in the dark mind of man in the apostle's time, as well as persecution in the rulers of the Jews; therefore called spiritual wickednesses in high places, because the imagination was high in those men aforesaid, to oppose the doctrine of Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, which the apostles preached.vto derinde on, yudovsod ind But the apostles having put on the whole armour of God," and more especially the shield of faith, they were able to en counter and dispute against all traditional ceremonies used in the law of Moses, and against all heathen philosophy and

heathen poetry, and to prove that Jesus was the Christ, and
that Christ was now alive in that body he suffered death in:
and this I say, none but s
say, none but such as hath put on the whole ar-
mour
of God could have fought against such wicked princi
palities and powers in high places, as aforesaid, but com-
missionated men, and those whose faith was strong, I thi

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Thus God hath put on his whole armour upon his chosen prophets and apostles, and with these weapons have they fought with many strange beasts after the manner of men; as Herod that great red dragon, Rev. xii.; and Herod that fox who beheaded John Baptist, and that generation of vi pers that came to John's baptism, and serpents that talked with Christ, and fat bulls of Bashan, in David's time, and that deyil that tempted Christ, these were all men, yea, wise, prudent, and honourable men; yet called in Scripture dragons, serpents, vipers, bulls, dogs, devils, foxes, with many other names that belongeth to venomous hurtful beasts, yet all but men; these were those beasts the prophets and the apostles fought with in their time; and with such beasts have we the witnesses of the Spirit fought with, which would be too large to tell of all the acts and battles that hath been fought by use of all the a the witnesses of the Spirit, since the year 1651, but shall wave all things in this place from the year 1651, to the year 1662, and shall only speak of some of the most remarkable passages and battles that I have fought with several wild beasts these six years: I thought it convenient to let the reader see the truth of what hath happened in some part within these six years; but what hath been acted by us the witnesses of the Spirit the eleven years before, that may happen to be recorded before I die for the age to come, there-b fore I shall only speak of some particular passages that hath been acted by me in this six years time, as followeth bollo

It was made known unto me, by the revelation of faith, before I had a commission from God, that I should enter into that heavenly and spiritual land of Canaan; and it was showed me, by revelation, that I must pass through the wilderness unto it, where many wild beasts and venomous creaturess should seek to devour me, or destroy me, which thing I did not well understand at that time; but afterwards, appearance i

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