declare; for so have the works of man proved, saith the Lord, from the foundation of the world to the present time. 27. But the use that man hath made of the righteous requirements of my Holy Spirit, hath not altered the requirements, and never can; they remain holy and sacred, to the endless ages of eternity. Luke, xiv. 20. And another said, I have married a wife: and therefore I cannot come. There were none that positively refused to come to the feast, but he that had married a wife. Chap. xvi. 15. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Sec. 28. Thus saith the Lord your God, unto all who name the Christian religion, I have commanded my mighty and holy Angel, whom I have sent forth to earth, to read this roll, for mortal hand to write, to have here inserted the foregoing declarations, which were delivered by my blessed Son, when upon earth, the first time, as divine requirements to the children of men; as these alone, are sufficient to condemn the whole world, in its present state of sin and wickedness. 29. Though many of his sayings, still more plain than these, have never come down to the age in which you live; but by them ye shall not be judged; ye shall only be judged by that which hath been always before you, that ye might look upon at any time ye chose, and shape your lives accordingly. 30. There is nothing that ever proceeded from his mouth, that will, in the least, contradict the spirit of any of the foregoing declarations of his. 31. Now, O thou vain and mortal man, in what part of the gospel recorded in the sacred volume, dost thou find a cloak that is able to cover thy wars and bloodshed, with all thy filthy works of darkness? 32. And again, even in that part of the sacred bible that ye call the law, and the Prophets, can ye find a passage, or a clause, that will justify the awful abominations and horrid crimes, that have stained the earth for hundreds and hundreds of years past? 33. Where is there one single sentence, between the lids of the sacred record, that can, in the least, justify the deeds of bigoted priests, and wicked clergy, in shedding the blood of millions of their fellow creatures, in the most cruel and barbarous manner, that their fiendish passions were able to invent; and that too, under a pretence of trying to bring them over to embrace the christian religion; which plainly declares, upon its whole face, that no violence can be used, or blood can be shed, by any who are its true subjects. 34. And the souls of millions now in eternity, cry unto Me for vengeance to visit the earth, for their innocent blood that was spilled thereon, by wicked priests and clergy. 35. And I will, saith the God of Heaven, visit, upon all generations, who shall follow their footsteps in shedding blood, to suppress what they call heresy; [yea,]I will visit them in great wrath, and in sore displeasure shall my hand of judgment rest upon them, both in time, and in eternity. 36. And I will hunt them in my vengeance, and destroy them in my fury, saith the Lord, as they have destroyed the innocent before them, to gratify their own bigoted natures of lust and ambition. 37. This, I declare, with my own mouth, to the nations of the earth, saith the God of Heaven, is as far from the spirit and the letter of that gospel preached by my holy child Jesus, the Prince of Peace, either in his first, or his second appearance, as the lowest depths of hell, are from the highest mansions of true felicity and enjoyment, in the heavens above. 38. And so shall it forever remain on my eternal record, by which every soul shall be judged, at my bar of eternal justice, saith God, the Creator of all, and the dispenser of true justice,, in his own due time and season, to every human being, CHAPTER IX. MY SOLEMN WORDS OF WARNING TO THE INHAB- OR THE TIME IN WHICH MY TWO WITNESSES WERE CLOTHED IN 1. Thus saith the Lord, I will condescend, in my infinite wisdoni and goodness, to reason with the objects of my creation, as a man would reason with his friend. This I condescended to do, in early ages; and shall the great I AM, in this, the latter day of his glory, be less mindful of the dangerous situation under the veil of darkness, which the many millions of souls now upon the earth, are resting? 2. Have not light and knowledge been suffered to increase, upon the earth, since the days of my first anointed One, whom I sent forth to earth to proclaim a free salvation, (not a compulsory one,) that all, whosoever would, might take of the waters of life freely? Surely, knowledge and understanding have increased. But did I not fore-show, even in the days of the Messiah, that I had not yet completed the order of my new, and spiritual kingdom? 3. And did not my holy influence, (or spirit,) move upon the prophets, and upon the apostles, (or followers in truth of the Messiah,) to speak of that day in which Christ should appear the second time; and clearly intimate, the humiliating position in which he would appear in the latter day? Truly, the records contained in your bibles, bear Me witness. 4. And was not a long and gloomy period foretold, by the same spirit, which would take place, between the two bright and last dispensations of my eternal goodness, sent forth to earth by the Two Anointed Ones, the King and the Queen of Zion? 5. Surely, this record is also before you. And was it not foretold, that a great declension, and a falling away from the true gospel, would take place, after the mission of my beloved Son, was the first time finished on earth? Truly, these things were clearly intimated by the spirit of prophecy, through my faithful servants. But what have all my solemn warnings, in past dispensations, availed man? Hath he not always been blind to his own best good and interest? Hath he ever hearkened to my solemn warnings, when they were sent forth, and changed his manner of life; so that my hand of mercy could be extended towards him? 6. Have mankind, in general, ever hearkened, so much as did the Ninevites, at the solemn warnings of Jonah, whom I sent to denounce destruction upon their city within forty days? 7. And did they not humble themselves in sackcloth and ashes, from the king on the throne, to the meanest servant; and lament, and bewail their forlorn condition, and cry mightily to Me, that I would spare their city? 8. And was not my anger appeased by their humility, insomuch that I hearkened to their cry, and prolonged the days that preceded their destruction, so long as they remained penitent and humble, and walked in the way of a true reformation? 9. And when they had ceased longer to keep their vows which they had made unto Me, in their supplications, and again turned to their former wickedness, did I not accomplish, in full, the words which I sent, by my prophet Jonah, that complete destruction should visit their city? 10. Truly I did, saith the Lord; and the great over-ruling First Cause, Jehovah, upon his throne, is the same Almighty power, yesterday, to-day, and forever; whose goodness faileth not, and whose judgments do not slumber. 11. But according to my infinite wisdom, all things are dispensed H in my own time and season; and to the honest hearted and sincere seekers, though the true light of the gospel might never have shone into their souls; yet, if they have truly followed the best light made known to them, the days of their ignorance shall be lightly passed over, and my hand of mercy shall rest upon them. 12. But those who are treacherous to that light which I have suffered to shine into their souls, and by reason of the cross and self-denial, which they perceived it was going to require of them, and who, by that means, labored to stifle the same, and put it out, so that they could again turn to their former lives of sin and wickedness, and not feel that remorse of conscience which this light would bring, must surely feel deep tribulation of soul, and wash in the streams of godly sorrow and repentance for the same, or they cannot escape the heavy hand of my judgment, saith the Lord; for such, sin in very deed, against the true light of God. 13. But again listen, all ye people of the earth, pause, consider, and reflect! How awful and great, was the wickedness practiced by man, upon the earth, after the days of the Messiah were passed; and his faithful followers, who had laid down their lives in support of his testimony, were called home to eternity, to rest with their Lord and Savior, from their wearisome toils and labors on earth, which they had passed through in laboring to plant and establish the gospel of their blessed Lord and Master, in the hearts of the children of men, who, as a body, proved themselves unworthy of salvation, or the notice of their God in mercy! 14. For, by their cruel and persecuting spirit, against the holy Son of God, and against those who were his true followers, they proved themselves fit subjects for my wrath and sore destruction, to rest upon them, and sweep them from the face of the earth, and scatter the remnant to the four winds of heaven, seeking rest, and finding none. 15. And for what were all these, their heavy sufferings? Because of their self-exalted ideas of the coming of the Messiah, and of their hard and obstinate hearts, in rebelling against his word and work, when I sent him forth, saith the Lord. 16. Though he communicated his lessons of instruction to them, in the most mild and persuasive language, and in a most Fatherly and affectionate manner extended his hand of charity and loving kindness, and would have gathered them under his wings of protection, as a hen would gather her chickens; |