A Copy of a Letter written by the Prophet Lodowicke Muggleton to Mrs. Ann Jackson, living in York, bear, ing date from London, August 29, 1683.

Loving Friend in the true Faith, Ann Jackson,

THIS is to certify you, that I have received, from the hands of Mrs. Hatter, your letter, dated the 3d. of August, 1683; also I received of her, at the same time, your kind token of your love, which you sent by her, thirty shillings, and one shilling to drink, in remembrance of you; which we did, for I was glad to see her, in that I have not seen her these several years, never since her husband's death, and before.

-And as for your part, I do not remember that ever I saw you in my life; I do remember I did write to you many years since, which I did promise to your maid servant; which at that time, as I remember, did deliver me a ten shilling piece of gold, as from you, as a token of your love at that time. I suppose that letter, which you have received so long since, doth give you an account of the receipt of it; so many years ago since I wrote to you, and not hearing no answer from you of the receipt of that letter these many years, I have quite forgot what was contained in it; but I am very glad you did receive it at last, and am very well pleased that it was, and is, so welcome unto your mind, as you have expressed both in word and deed, in that your love hath far exceeded my expectation, or hearing from you any more. But I say by this your letter, that the good seed of faith was sown in your heart many years ago, by those books

and letters; and your soul was that good ground, and I was the sower which God sent forth to sow in these latter days. Reeve and Muggleton hath sowed the doctrine of truth, which is the good seed in this world; and some hath fell by the wayside, which the fowls and phantasies of men and women hath picked up; we have cast some of this good seed among thorns, and the cares of this world hath choaked it up, as soon as ever it began to appear, and so came to nothing. Likewise we have cast this good seed, very much of it, into stony ground, and it came up very quickly into a blade, very green and pleasant; but when the sun of persecution did arise, it scorched the green blade, and made it wither and die. And some of this good seed we have cast into good ground; as you and many others can witness at this day, both in England and Ireland, and other places; insomuch, that they have brought forth good fruit, even the fruit of faith, some thirty, some sixty, some an hundred fold, of peace mind, the assurance of everlasting life in themselves, while in this life, in that they did believe the true doctrine declared by us, the witnesses of the Spirit, they brought forth the knowledge of the true God, in his form and nature, which causeth them to see God; for no man can love God, but he that doth know God in his form and nature; therefore said, this is life eternal to know the true God, which no man or woman in the world, at this day, doth know the true God in his form and nature, but those men and women only, that doth believe the doctrine and declarations written in these books, set forth by the witnesses of the Spirit; so that we can truly say, we do know the true God in his form and nature, because we have the assurance of eternal life abiding in ourselves. Likewise all true believers of this third and

of

last commission of the Spirit, hath the knowledge of the form and nature of the right devil; so that all fear of seeing the devil is taken away; for the right devil is man, or Mendinæas; because the right devil is incarnate, the devil became flesh; so that no man of this faith need to fear, or be frighted, at the sight of the devil; except a man-devil comes with a warrant to carry him to jail for debt, or some other misdemeanor. But the whole world lieth in ignorance and darkness in the knowledge of the right devil, as they do in the knowledge of the true God. The religious, and the expounders of the scriptures, are as dark in these too main points, of absolute necessity for every man to know, concerning the true God and right devil, even as the heathen, that never had the scriptures to read; therefore all professors of the christian religion hath created in themselves a devil which God never created, a Spirit without a body, that is invisible, to fright themselves withal. These two great mysteries, and many more heavenly secrets, are declared and plainly opened in those books you say you have of mine, and of Lawrence Claxton; and I would advise you to preserve those books you have, for it is hard to get some of them you have for any money and if you do seriously read them, I make no question but your understanding will be opened to comprehend those deeper and secret mysteries contained in those books, which will increase your faith and knowledge in those heavenly truths, to the great satisfaction of your own soul, and to the joy of me, the minister of glad tidings of life and salvation to you and others, even as many as the Lord our God shall call to the belief of the doctrine of this commission of the Spirit, and to the glory of our God, the man Christ Jesus in glory. I perceive

that you were one of God's elect; that you were not overcome by the temptations of the devil. For those Quakers, and other professors, which persuaded you to fling those books in the fire and burn them, for they were all nought; I say they were all devils, the seed of the serpent, and will be damned to eternity; but in that you preserved them out of love and care to keep them, out of love to them, you have shewed yourself to be one of God's elect vessels, of the seed of the woman, of the seed of God; one that is appointed to life and salvation, which you shall have the witness in yourself, in the believing and understanding these heavenly mysteries contained in those writings of the prophets and apostles; which is a clear proof to me, that if you had lived in the days of the prophets, or in the days of the apostles, you would have believed them; and would have been saved by your own faith in them, as you will now be saved by your own faith in us, the two last prophets that God will ever send to the end of the world. For I can truly say, as Christ did to the Jews, who said they believed Moses, that God spake to him; but as for this man, that calls himself Christ, we know not whence he is; Christ said to them, If you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, for Moses wrote of me; so I say that whosoever would have believed the prophets and apostles, in their time, will believe us now in this last age of the world; for the prophets and apostles wrote of us, as I could prove by the scriptures, but it would be too large. And as for the Quakers reporting that I was dead, I cannot much blame them for it; because there was a printed pamphlet cried about the streets, that I was dead, and that I died in the Marshalsea, naming the day when, about four years since: the man that cried the book, in the same yard where I dwell, the boys

knowing I was well, called the man lying rogue, and brought him to my door; and when the man saw me, he asked my pardon, and said he would stop selling of those books that day, and so he did; but many of them was spread up and down London, and sent into many countries, as truth; but the God of heaven hath preserved me to this day with my life and health. Thus I have touched upon all the material things in your letter; whereby you may know that I am yet alive. So that I shall take leave at present; only my love, and my wife's love, presented unto you, though unknown by face to us both, I remain,

Your friend in the eternal truth,

LODOWICKE MUGGLETON.

London, August 25th, 1683.

If you send any letters to me, direct your letters thus: These for Mr. Alexander Delamain, at the sign of the three Tobacco Pipes, upon Bread Street Hill, London, and it will come safe to my hands. I would willingly hear whether you receive this letter.

The Copy of Mrs. Anne Tompkinson's Blessing, given her by the Prophet Lodowicke Muggleton, dated in London, July 10, 1684.

Loving Friend in the true faith, Anne Tompkinson,

I UNDERSTAND by my wife, that your desire and request is, that I would give you the blessing in