the people which he left, did yet boast themselves of Abraham, and called themselves after his name, but were only historical children, brought forth of strange women without Abraham's faith and spirit.
9. Thus also it has fallen out in Christendom, when they have been weary of [Negligent of] the spirit of Christ;
and made only a prating business thereof, the spirit of Christ has then departed, and hidden itself from them; and then these people have indeed stood yet in the history, and boasted themselves to be Christians, but have been indeed only the children of the bond-woman, viz. of Hagar; and the sons of mockery, who, with disputing and wrangling about Christ's name and will, have mocked, scorned, reviled, contemned, reproached, and branded each other for heretics; and mere Ishmaelites have risen of them.
10. As it is as plain as the day, that now men go from the scorning and reproaching each other, to the sword of murder; and will wholly slay and root out Christ [in his members], and set the Babylonical tower in Christ's stead, whereby a man shall be able in self-will and power to climb into heaven; so that a man need not enter in through the mortifying of the old evil man, but may be able to come in, after a fine hypocritical way with the selfhood of the evil man; or indeed as outwardly adopted children covered with Christ's purple mantle; where yet the will of self is unmortified, and cannot truly come to God.
11. Now as these people were afterwards judged, when Abraham departed from them, they being only mockers of the children of Abraham, as may be seen in Pharaoh, and the heathen also, especially in the land of Canaan: so likewise it has happened to the Christians, that these nations which continued only under the name of Christ, and yet were only heathenish in the heart, were always judged and banished by such heathenish people. As may be seen by Asia, Egypt, and Greece, and many other nations besides, how God has pulled off the mantle of Christ from them, as verbal hypocrites and mockers of Christ, and given them a darkened heart and understanding of the kingdom of Christ, and cast away their candlestick, that they could no longer say, We are Christians, and belong unto Christ, but Turks, and barbarous people, begotten of the wild tree of nature.
12. Thus Christ must here in this world wander only as a light from one people to another, For a testimony unto all people (Matt. xxiv.
14). And unto you, O Germany, [ And to you also, O England]
it is now shown (and also to those nations of whom you are born with the name of Christ), in that you have for a long time walked under the mantle of Christ with a heathenish heart, and boasted of the adoption, but lived only in the iniquity of the flesh: That your judgement is nigh at hand.
13. For the angel of the judgement calls aloud to the residue of Abraham's children in Christ, Go out of Sodom: Abraham in Christ is gone away from you; you have no more of Christ than an empty breath; and a disputing verbal lip-labour; a mockery, whereby one brother does contemn, scorn, and mock another for Christ's knowledge' sake, and only kills Christ in his members. The city, Jerusalem and Babylon, wherein you have gloried [and proudly perked up yourself in your devout hypocrisy] shall go to ruin. Amen.
14. Lo, a star shines from the East and North, which shall blindfold you, and break down your walled towers and strongholds in Jerusalem and Babylon. For you are called no longer, Jerusalem, but Babel; and the children which sit in the shadow of the night, and which lie imprisoned in Babel, shall be delivered; and come forth, and enter into the city of God, which he has set open to all nations and tongues of the earth, that his glory may be known: A light for all nations [or people].
the people which he left, did yet boast themselves of Abraham, and called themselves after his name, but were only historical children, brought forth of strange women without Abraham's faith and spirit.
9. Thus also it has fallen out in Christendom, when they have been weary of [Negligent of] the spirit of Christ;
and made only a prating business thereof, the spirit of Christ has then departed, and hidden itself from them; and then these people have indeed stood yet in the history, and boasted themselves to be Christians, but have been indeed only the children of the bond-woman, viz. of Hagar; and the sons of mockery, who, with disputing and wrangling about Christ's name and will, have mocked, scorned, reviled, contemned, reproached, and branded each other for heretics; and mere Ishmaelites have risen of them.
10. As it is as plain as the day, that now men go from the scorning and reproaching each other, to the sword of murder; and will wholly slay and root out Christ [in his members], and set the Babylonical tower in Christ's stead, whereby a man shall be able in self-will and power to climb into heaven; so that a man need not enter in through the mortifying of the old evil man, but may be able to come in, after a fine hypocritical way with the selfhood of the evil man; or indeed as outwardly adopted children covered with Christ's purple mantle; where yet the will of self is unmortified, and cannot truly come to God.
11. Now as these people were afterwards judged, when Abraham departed from them, they being only mockers of the children of Abraham, as may be seen in Pharaoh, and the heathen also, especially in the land of Canaan: so likewise it has happened to the Christians, that these nations which continued only under the name of Christ, and yet were only heathenish in the heart, were always judged and banished by such heathenish people. As may be seen by Asia, Egypt, and Greece, and many other nations besides, how God has pulled off the mantle of Christ from them, as verbal hypocrites and mockers of Christ, and given them a darkened heart and understanding of the kingdom of Christ, and cast away their candlestick, that they could no longer say, We are Christians, and belong unto Christ, but Turks, and barbarous people, begotten of the wild tree of nature.
12. Thus Christ must here in this world wander only as a light from one people to another, For a testimony unto all people (Matt. xxiv.
14). And unto you, O Germany, [ And to you also, O England]
it is now shown (and also to those nations of whom you are born with the name of Christ), in that you have for a long time walked under the mantle of Christ with a heathenish heart, and boasted of the adoption, but lived only in the iniquity of the flesh: That your judgement is nigh at hand.
13. For the angel of the judgement calls aloud to the residue of Abraham's children in Christ, Go out of Sodom: Abraham in Christ is gone away from you; you have no more of Christ than an empty breath; and a disputing verbal lip-labour; a mockery, whereby one brother does contemn, scorn, and mock another for Christ's knowledge' sake, and only kills Christ in his members. The city, Jerusalem and Babylon, wherein you have gloried [and proudly perked up yourself in your devout hypocrisy] shall go to ruin. Amen.
14. Lo, a star shines from the East and North, which shall blindfold you, and break down your walled towers and strongholds in Jerusalem and Babylon. For you are called no longer, Jerusalem, but Babel; and the children which sit in the shadow of the night, and which lie imprisoned in Babel, shall be delivered; and come forth, and enter into the city of God, which he has set open to all nations and tongues of the earth, that his glory may be known: A light for all nations [or people].
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