faking the Truth of the vifibie Record, of the invifible fpiritual God, the Man Chrift Jefus, by their imaginary blind Reafonings, they have converted the eternal fpiritual Truths of the only everlafting God, into vain, empty, notional Fancies, which they call the Mystery of the Hiftory, when the Lord knoweth, it is the Babylonish Mystery of Iniquity of Men in Darknefs, in Opposition to the True Mystery of God, the Everlasting Father, cloathing himself with Fiel and Bone, as with a Garment, and in that glorious Body difplaying the Splendour of his fpiritual Beams into the Spirits and Bodies of elect Men and Angels to all Eternity.

Sir, I would not willingly wear out your Patience with Superfluity of Words: Oh! bear with me a little, I humbly beicech you, and conceive it to be from the Love of the divine. Voice of God himfelf, our Lord Jefus Chrift, in me unto you, and all of your sweet and tender Spirit.

Again, In the next Place, by Infpiration from the Lord Jefus, I declare, that from all Eternity, thofe Elements of Earth and Water were uncreated Subftances, diftinct from the ever-living Spirit, Perfon, Nature, or Glory, of the uncreated eternal God, or Creator of all living Forms.

Wherefore, if you grant there was a Time, in which all Things that have Life had a Beginning; then of neceffity the Creator muft from Eternity reign alone, before any Thing was formed to live in his Sight. Wherefore, if you imagine the Creator to be an infinite, or vaft Spirit, without any bodily Form; yet you cannot poffibly deny, but that he must have a Place to difplay his glorious Life in or upon; fo that (without Controverfy) Earth and Water, in refpect of their Matters and Substances, must needs be eternal with God, or in his Prefence. Indeed it cannot be denied, that if the Creator should be an infinite, or vaft bodilefs Spirit, as you have declared him to be, but Earth and Water, and all Things else, from Eternity, muft needs be harmoniously, one with him. But as the Lord liveth, and all Creatures that he hath made, and formed into Life, either for a Time, or to Eternity, it is no fuch Thing. For there is no fuch God, or vaft bodiless Spirit, nor never was at all; but Death, Hell, or utter Darknefs, were eternally fecretly hid in thofe dark, dead, or fenfe

H 2

lefs

lels elementary Subftances of Earth and Water, only of themfelves they could not appear to be, but must be produced by the powerful Word of a fenfible living Creator.

Thus it is clear, the glorious eternal God being all Light, and no Darkness; all Life, and no Death; all Heaven, and no Hell; he could not poffibly be effentially one with any liv ing Creature he had formed, as Men vainly imagine. For God is Light, and in him is no Darkness at all. As in John.

Again, But you will fay unto me, I have not clearly answered you to the Question; Why? Because if it be granted, that from all Eternity the Creator was a diftinct glorious Perfon or Form, whofe fpiritual Nature was nothing else but Light and Life; and that the Elements of Earth and Water were diftinct Subftances from him, and that Death, Hell, and Darkness, were fecretly hid in them, yet they could not poffibly produce any living Life, or living Death of themselves, but were all brought forth by the ever-living Spirit of the Creator; then what was that Spirit or Life that entred into elementary Earth or Waters, but the divine Nature of God himself?

By Inspiration, from the holy Spirit of the Lord Jefus, to this I answer, (the Man Adam only excepted) That neither the elect invifible Angels, who are fpiritual Bodies in the Forms of Men, whofe Natures are pure Reafon; nor any other living Creatures, were of the fame Nature of his Spirit that formed them; but they were all Variety of Natures to one another, and to their Creator alfo. And in their Kind, their Natures or Spirits were all pure in their Creation, and in a sweet Communion one with another, and with their Creator alfo, fo long, and no longer, than they continued in their created State.

Again, This Secret I would gladly have the Chofen of the Moft High to understand, that herein lay hid the unfearchable Wisdom of the Creator, by the Almighty Power of his Word fpeaking into thofe Subftances of Earth and Water, from thence to produce as many feveral Spirits, or Natures, as feemed good in his Sight; and yet wholly to retain the divine Nature or Effence of his own glorious Spirit in himself, diftinct from all thofe living Forms created by him, even as if they were not of him, or created by him at all.

Again, From the unerring Spirit of the Lord Jefus Christ, I declare, That it was impoffible for the Creator to form both Angels and Men, to be of his own divine Nature. The Ground of which Impoffibility is this, because his Prerogative Royal Glory was the eternal Wheel that moved him to create any living Creature in his Sight; and if they had been formed of his own divine Nature, I pray you what Diftinction of the Variety of his Power and Wisdom could ever have been seen, or known by Men or Angels? Nay, moreover, would not Men and Angels rather have been Gods, or all Creators, than Creatures, in their Creation, if they had been both in Spirit and Body of his own divine Nature, or Spirit; and fo were not capable to be changed from their created State, either to a more tranfcendent afcending God-like Glory, or to an unutterable defcending Devil-like Shame?

Again, In the Spirit of Truth, and God of Order, and not of Confusion, I humbly befeech you seriously to confider this Truth, wherein all the eternal Glory of God's creating of Men, or Angels, confifts. Are there any Bowels of Love, Mercy, or Compaffion, in the holy Spirit of the Creator? Is there any Life, Light, or ravishing Glory in him? Or hath he any Power in himself, to do his own Pleafure with his own glorious Excellencies? Or to do his Pleasure with any Creatures formed by him? If thou fhalt grant him this his Royal Prerogative, then, without all Controverfy, this will follow, That unless he had created two Veffels, of Variety of Natures or Spirits, for a Time to remain in their created Purities; and in his appointed Time and Seafon to with-hold the Infpiration of his glorious. Light from them both, by which they ftood, that they might fall from their created State, by their unlawful uniting of Spirits or Natures together, to produce two Worlds, or two Generations of People, for the Manifeftation of fixing his eternal Love, Light, Life, and immortal God-like Glory upon the one; and retaining the Splendour of all his glorious Excellencies to himself from the other; all his Variety of new and glorious Wisdom and Power must have been vailed from Men and Angels, and they must have remained in their Creation, like unto fenfeless Stocks or Stones, to all Eternity, in refpect of any fpiritual or natural Understanding of their Creator's infinite

Power,

Power, Wifdom, or Glory. it is written, He made all Things for his own Glory, and the Wicked for the Day of Wrath: And the Carcafes of the Rebels fhall be cast out, where the Worm never dieth, nor the Fire never goeth out. When you shall fee visibly an increafing Glory in God, and elect Men and Angels, then you fhall know indeed the Truth of what is written.

Again, I humbly befeech you, can there be any Diftinction between God, Angels, or Men, unless there be a Variety of Natures, or Names, to manifeft a Difference between them? Can there now be any God at all, and no Devil or Devils? Can there be any Heaven at all, and no Hell? Or any Light, and no Darknefs? Or any Life, and no Death? Or any eternal Life and Glory, for fome of the Children of Men, and no eternal Death, Darkness, or Shame, for other fome of the Children of Men? Can you possibly think, either from true Faith, or fober Reafon itself, that one of thefe can be without the other? Doth not the one give a Being to the other? Can you therefore poffibly deftroy the Being of the one, and preferve the Being of the other?

Now, by the true Inspiration of God, you may fee, in due Time, that there is no Poffibility of an harmonious uniting of Heaven and Hell together, by their entring into a more perfect Fulness, according to your Defcription. But Heaven muft needs be diftinct from Hell, or else there can be no perfect Heaven; and Hell must be diftinct from Heaven, or else there can be no certain Hell. The Lord my God, if it be his good Pleasure, preferve you from exalting your natural Wisdom of earthly Reason, above the fpiritual Wisdom of true Faith, which is the heavenly Nature of the only wife God, the Man Jefus in Glory.

Again, I humbly befeech you meekly to confider what I fhall write unto you, concerning your charitable Thoughts of Heaven and Hell's uniting together at the laft.

By Infpiration from the God of all Truth, I declare, that fince the Fall of Man, Chrift and his angelical Believers, who are the loft Seed of Adam; and Cain, and his reprobate, unbelieving, unmerciful Generation, who are the Seed of the angelical Serpent. Thus, Hell and Heaven, or Light and Darkness, were never in a fpiritual Union, or Communion

together,

together, fince they had a Being, nor can poffibly be reconciled, whatever Men dream of Unity with the whole Creation. Thefe Natures and Names, Conditions and Places, whether of eternal Life, Light, and Glory, or eternal Death, Darkness, and Shame, are to be diftinct, and utterly oppofite to one another, to all Eternity, as aforefaid, for the Manifeftation of his royal Prerogative, of the Variety of his heavenly Glories unto fome, whereby they become Perfons full of ravishing Excellencies, when Time is no more, like unto himfelf; and with-holding the Brightness of his Love from other fome, through which they become utterly Darkness, eternally tormenting themselves with their former filthy Rebellions, or vain-glorious Pleasures, they lived in. Hence arifeth continually all Variety of heavenly Songs, from elect Men and Angels, unto the Brightness of his uncreated Majefty, because they are not also caft out of his heavenly Prefence with him.

Again, concerning thofe Words of yours, Most certain it is that the vast Spirit of the Lord taketh in all Things, and doubtless they may be found in Union and Agreement by him whofe Spirit is quick and piercing enough; from the Holy Spirit I declare, he that can prove this your Affertion to be certainly true, as you have declared it, he hath, or is endued with a Spirit more fpiritually quick and piercing, more wife and loving, or merciful, than God himself, elect Men or Angels, and may prove them all Liars, both in the Spirit and in the Letter.

Wherefore, in Oppofition to this your Opinion, from the Lord Jefus I affirm, that there is no Spirit that ever was created that returns into the Creator again; but they are to be diftinct from him in their Effence for everlasting, that the Creator, to the vifible Sight of the Creature, may remain to be the Creator, and the Creature continue to be a Creature, unto the glorious. Praife of his tranfcendent Brightness, even Face to Face, World without End.

Moreover, when Man dies, and turns to his Duft again. from whence he was taken, his Soul or Spirit doth not return. into the Spirit of the Creator, as Men, from Solomon's Words, blindly imagine, who was no prophetical Penman of the Holy Spirit of the Scripture Records; but the Soul, and all created

Life