showed me what the wilderness was, and what wild beasts and venomous creatures should seek to devour or destroy or devour me; but the voice of faith said unto me, Be not afraid, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, that hath chosen thee one of his last prophets and witnesses of the Spirit, to encounter with all wild beasts thou shalt meet with. And as the first Aaron God choose to pass through the wilderness toward the temporal land of Canaan; he was clothed with the armour of God as aforesaid 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 prophesy was as a pure white garment down to his feet, and girt about his loins with a pure girdle of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet; and the holy oil, consecrated oil of the Lord, was poured upon his head, and it run down to his feet botimi

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So likewise when God chose me to be John Reeve's mouth, it was brought to my mind, that Aaron was given to be Moses' mouth, and there was put upon me at that time the whole armour of God, which I did not well understand at present; but the revelation of faith hath shined to me since in a large measure. There was put upon my head, at that time, the helmet of salvation, and upon my breast was put the breastplate of righteousness, the breast-plate was double righteousness; the righteousness of the law, and the righteousness of faith and about my waist I was girt with the girdle of truth, and my feet were shod with the doctrine of heavenly peace, and in my left hand there was put the shield of faith, and in my right-hand the two-edged sword of the Spirit; thus being armed with the whole armour of God, I was to travel through the wilderness to the heavenly land; I have met with great opposition in the wilderness, as I have journeyed this seventeen years; but I shall speak but of some few things that hath fallen out this six years, as I said before.ur pedergem

Now let the reader observe and mind what wilderness that was John the Baptist did come preaching, Mat. iii. 1. it is said, He came preaching in the wilderness of Judea; sure it cannot be supposed by wise sober men, that it was any natural wilderness, where natural wild beasts do live, but

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altogether to the contrary; as you may see, ver. 5, where it is said, Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan. Sure this multitude of people would never have gone into the wilderness to have been baptized of John, had the wilderness been far from the cities of Jerusalem and Judea; and can any sober, rational man imagine, that the Pharisees and the Sadduces, who were wise, prudent, and honourable men, would have gone into the wilderness to have been baptized of John, had the wilderness been far from Jerusalem, surely no; therefore that wilderness John came preaching in, was no natural wilderness, for it would have been a vain thing for him to preach to trees and bushes, or wild beasts; besides, that cannot properly be called a natural wilderness that hath such a multitude of inhabitants near it. banbod aand nogu But some may say, What wilderness then was it he preached in? To this I say, the barren hearts of the people that dwelt in Jerusalem and Judea, and the region thereabout, was that wilderness he preached in; and they were called a wilderness because of the barrenness of faith in their hearts to believe his report, that Christ the Saviour was now at hand, as doth plainly appear in Matt. iv. And if it be objected, where then did John baptize? To that I say, it was a little distance, a mile or something more, or such a matter from the city and towns where water was, as it is in several places near London, as Hackney, Bow, and such like so the people came to him out of the cities and villages where the water was, to be baptized of him in Jordan; so that the wilderness John preached in, and the wilderness Christ was said to be in, when he was tempted of the devil, as in Matt. in was no other wilderness but the barren unbelieving hearts of the people of the Jews that dwelt in Jerusalem, Judea, and the region round about, and not any natural wilderness, as ignorant people do vainly imagine, but a spiritual wilderness in the hearts of men, being barren of all true faith, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, Matt. iii. 3, speaking of John the Baptist, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight; this was that spiritual wildernessed hearts that John preached in, and

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that Christ fasted in when he was tempted of the devil, and no natural wilderness, whatever men do imagine to the contrary; for this spiritual wilderness in men's hearts, is in opposition to that natural wilderness Moses and Aaron led the children of Israel through, toward the temporal land of Canaan, word forms bas robbs blo as to trol And such a like wilderness as this have I journeyed towards the heavenly Canaan this many years, and have preached or declared the doctrine of the true and the right devil. In the wilderness of England, that is, in the barren unbelieving hearts of the seven churches of Europe; and some of all the seven churches hath either heard me speak, or seen my writings, and a few of all the seven hath believed. Yet the wilderness is yet large still, and I have travelled already through the sixth part of the wilderness, with great hatred, malice, and persecution, from several wild beasts in the wilderness of England, that is, the six churches; and now there is only one part more of this wilderness for me to journey through, before I can come at the promised land; and the wild beasts doth live in this latter part of the wilderness, being nearer to the land of Canaan than the other; for, this part seems to border upon the edge of the heavenly Canaan, which makes the wild beasts, that inhabit there, to rage and roar, at me; for they are exceedingly moved at the sight of me, fearing that I should slay them with the two-edged sword of the Spirit that is put into my mouth, and pass into the promised land, which God hath promised me and all true believers of this commission of the Spirit.

Therefore I shall let the reader understand some part of the opposition and battles that I have fought with the wild beasts in this part of the wilderness, which seemingly lieth upon the edge of the heavenly Canaan, is as followeth. In the year 1662.

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As I was journeying in the wilderness of Derbyshire, there came many serpents, and put forth their stings, thinking to have stinged me by the feet; but my feet being shod with true heavenly peace, their stings could not enter so I smote them with the two-edged sword that was in my right hand, and wounded the heads of most of them, and their venomous

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stings was cut off, so that they could not hurt, so they crept away the serpents were five or six Quakers at Nottingham and Mansfield.asm ni eeemobliw louinige eids ucl ¿yront After this journeyed a little further, and there came forth another serpent; he was not speckled, but more like the colour of an old adder, and something brown; when he saw me he lifted up his head, and put forth his sting a great way out of his mouth, thinking to have stinged me in my loins, between the breast plate and the feet; but I having the girdle of truth about my loins, his sting could not enter; so I smote him upon the head with my sword of the Spirit, and cut off his sting, so that he cannot hurt none with his sting no more; this serpent-adder was Edward Bourne the Quaker, spoken of in my book, called "The Neck of the Quakers Broken!” 629179bw sat to cuq dixie od dgpond After this, as I was journeying a little further in the wilderness, towards the promised land, there came forth out of the fearn and mossy ground, two fiery serpents, whose stings were present death, where the brazen serpent could not be looked upon immediately; but I being armed with the whole armour of God, I knew myself able to encounter with them both: but when they had both sight of me, they crept apace till they came near me; they looked very fierce and fiery, and their stings were very long and poisonous; and they lifted themselves up both together, and thrust their stings at my breast, supposing it should have touched my heart, but I having a double breast-plate of righteousness upon my breast, which covered my heart, that is, the righ teousness of the law, and the righteousness of faith was on my heart, and upon my breast, so that their stings could not there; seeing this, their ings could not enter my breast, they both lifted themselves up a little higher, standing as it were upon their tails, with long fiery stings, they made at my head, but I having the helmet of salvation upon my head, so that they could not enter there neither. So they both lifted themselves up again, and made at my face, but the shield of faith in my left hand kept them off; so with the sword in my right hand I smote them both, at one blow, upon their heads, and cut out both their stings

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that came out of their mouths, and they could do no hurt any more, but any child might handle them, and not be hurt by them, because their fiery poisonous stings was taken out of them by one blow of the two-edged sword I smote them with, so they crept away from me, and I pursued them no further; they hid themselves in the mossy ground in the wilderness, their stings being both cut out, and wounded in their heads it is thought one of them died a while after of the wound in his head, and the loss of his stingbunoa ynisd These two fiery serpents, they were William Smith and Samuel Hooton, two Quakers spoken of in my book, called The Neck of the Quakers Broken," there was many venomous beasts, as vipers, asps, &c. that leaped on me, but I cast them off me to the ground, but several of the vipers leaped upon me again, thinking to have poisoned me with their stings: but I did as Paul did, cast them into the fire; so I did cast them into the fire of hell, there to burn eternally Also there was many wasps, whose stings was in their tails, flying about me to sting me, but their stings could not hurt me; this battle was fought with those two fiery serpents, and other venomous beasts in the year 1662, as may be read in that book aforesaid.

After this, as I was travelling a little further in the wilderness, there came forth a great red dragon, very fierce and fell; he was exceeding fat and full of fury; he had two great wings on the sides of his breasts; and his tongue was as it were all in a fire with the poison that was in it, as if it had been long soaked in poison many days; and when he opened his mouth he cast forth poison, and whoever this poison did bite upon, it did venom and much hurt; but as soon as ever this dragon perceived me come towards him with the two-edged sword in my right hand, and the shield of faith in my left hand, he lifted up his two great wings, and stood, as it were, upright upon his feet, and thrust his tongue a great way out of his mouth; so I drew near unto him, and he cast forth poison upon my breast, but my breast-plate being double, as aforesaid, the poison could not enter; so I smote him on the breast, between his wings, with the two-edged sword, and loosened his two wings, so that no strength was