I say, a spirit hath no existence no where without a body, but is a meer nothing at all. And this imaginary God, a Spirit without a body, is the Quakers God of eternal glory, which they worship, even a nothing at all, but a God of their own imagination: so that their fellowship and acquaintance is only with such a God as they have imagined; a spirit without a body is the Quakers God of eternal glory; and this God, an infinite nothing, hath poured out of his unholy spirit of imagination of reason upon the people called Quakers, such a spirit, which hath enabled them to defy the living God, that hath a body of his own in heaven, above the stars. And this imaginary God, a spirit without a body, hath given the Quakers discerning and counsel to fight against the true God, that hath a body, and to blaspheme against him and those he sends: so that the spirit of reason, the devil, in the Quakers, think they can try the spirits, whether they be of God, or not, yet stone-blind, and know not the true God.

2. The Quakers say, and there is a spirit that hath come forth into, and lain lurking in secret places for a season, and now begins to enlarge itself, by the erroneous doctrines of John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton, as they call them.

Answer. That this spirit, that hath come forth, which you say hath lain lurking in secret places for a season, it was the Spirit of Christ, the only wise God, that hath a body now in heaven, which you Quakers so despise, that did authorise John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton, to declare against that AntiChristian spirit that reigneth in the world in all fessions of religion; in that every man, by nature, is ignorant of the form and nature of the true God, and that God made man in his own image, in respect of

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his bodily shape and likeness, as well as his soul. But all men, by nature, being blind in spiritual things, as we ourselves were, have imagined and framed to themselves a God that is not, only a spirit without a body. And this dark apprehension of God hath taken such deep root in all mens hearts by nature, it being an established doctrine in the world above these thousand years, even from one generation to another. And the cause why this utter darkness hath remained upon all men, as well upon the elect as upon the reprobate, is, because God hath not sent one man, by commission, to declare the true God this many hundred years, until now, in this last age of the world, he hath sent Reeve and Muggleton. And that hath been the cause the whole world hath been over-spread with this conceit, that God is an infinite, formless Spirit, that hath no body, form, or likeness of his own. But Reeve and Muggleton were sent forth by the authority of this God, that hath a body of his own, to try the spirits of all professors of the Scriptures in the world; which we have tried, and we do perfectly know the height and depth of every man's faith in the world in spiritual things concerning his God. And by this spiritual knowledge of God, his form and nature, we know the forms and natures of all things else, in heaven above, and in the earth beneath; and in the trial of all mens religion, we have tried by what spirit the Quakers are come forth in, and we find, by the knowledge of the Scriptures, and by the faith of the prophets and apostles, that the Quakers people are carried forth, by the spirit of Anti-Christ, with an imaginary God, a spirit without a body. And that there are no professors of religion in the world so absolute Anti-Christ as the Quakers people are. To

be plain, the Spirit, which they call God, or Christ, or the light of Christ within them, is nothing else but the imaginations of reason, the devil in them, they finding the law written in their hearts, their thoughts accusing and excusing, they do imagine this law to be God; and this law hath never a body distinct from man. Therefore the dark imagination in the Quakers hearts doth think, that this law, written in every man's heart, must needs be God. This is the Quakers God, that hath never a body of his own, but man's body to dwell in: but this God of yours within you will prove your only devil to torment you to eternity.

And whereas you say, this spirit, meaning Reeve and Muggleton, hath been lurking in secret places for a season.

To this I say, it hath been almost as openly declared as the Quakers spirit hath, and almost as long it hath appeared in this last age of the world, for matter of time, as the Quakers Anti-Christian spirit hath appeared. It is almost twenty-two years since this commission of the Spirit hath appeared; and the spirit of Anti-Christ in the Quakers hath appeared but few years more. And when Reeve and Muggleton did appear at the first, this declaration and doctrine was far more publick than the appearance of the Quakers; why? Because we wrote our faith, doctrine, and commission, and printed it to the world, whereby the people took more publick notice of us than of the Quakers; for at that time, there were but few Quakers of note; neither did they print any thing of their faith and doctrine, what they would have the people to believe; and I suppose, that, if the first book the Quakers wrote to vindicate the principles of the Quakers doctrine could be produced,'

it would not bear so long a time as Reeve's and Muggleton's Commission-Book doth. But however, the Quakers at that time had witchcraft-fits, which did rather fright the beholders of them than inform their judgments. But since that, Muggleton hath cast out that devil out of many of them, by the sentence of damnation upon the chief of them: so that it hath eased the whole body of the Quakers of those witchcraft-fits, that were formerly very rise in the Quakers people; so that now there is hardly a witchcraft-fit can be procured amongst them. So that this spirit, that Reeve and Muggleton were guided by, hath not lain lurking in secret places. For I do believe, that we have written and printed, if it were possible to gather then all together, in publick, more than most of the Quakers in England have written; however, our books trouble the world more than any Quakers books do whatsoever. Likewise we were publick enough twenty years ago with you Quakers, when we gave sentence of damnation upon four of your chief leaders, if not the first broachers of the Quakers Anti-Christian doctrine, viz. George Fox, the elder and younger, both, Francis Howgell, and Edward Burroughes; these four, as I remember, were the first Quakers that were damned for denying that God hath a body of his own, distinct from man, and all other creatures. So that you Quakers have the least cause of any people whatsoever to say, that this spirit hath lain lurking in secret places; for this spirit hath had more power over those people called Quakers, than any other people whatsoever. So that you Quakers, of all people in the world, have the least cause to say, this spirit hath lain lurking in secret places. Indeed, we have not followed the practice of you Quakers, to compass sea and land to

gain proselites, as many of you have, and you have made them twofold the children of the devil than they were before, in that they are more hardened, and more uncapable to understand the mystery of the true God becoming flesh, and the devil becoming ftesh.

And whereas you say, now it begins to enlarge itself by the erroneous doctrines of John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton, as you call them.

To this I say, the Anti-Christian spirit in the Quakers hath enlarged itself very much within these fifteen years, which hath been the cause that the Spirit of the true Christ in us hath enlarged itself, in opposition to the Spirit of Anti-Christ in the Quaker, and more especially since John Reeve's death; for in his time, there were but few Quakers in comparison to what are now, and little notice taken of them in his time; but since they have encreased and multiplied exceedingly: but since Muggleton began to oppose them, by writing against their bodiless God within them, it hath put a great stop to them; and not only so, but this doctrine of Reeve and Muggleton hath delivered many innocent souls out of the snares of the Quakers, which leadeth men to eternal perdition, which denieth the body of the Lord of life to be without them. Besides, the spirit did not lurk in any secret place, when I wrote to Edward Bourne, Samuel Hooton, William Smith, Thomas Taylor, and several others, which is near twelve years ago, wherein they were damned to eternity for despising that doctrine you call erroneous; and ever since that letter to Samuel Hooton and William Smith, I have not been suffered to lurk in secret places. For you Quakers have caused me to be the publickest man in the world; witness that