(120) Therefore no Man ought to think, that the Devil is able to tear the Works of the Light out of his Heart, for he can neither see nor comprehend them: And though he rages and raves in the outermost Birth in the Flesh as in his Castle of Robbery or Fort of Pray, be not discouraged or dismayed; only take heed thou thyself bring not the Works of Wrath into the Light of thy Heart, and then thy Soul will be safe enough from the deaf and dumb Devil, who is blind in the Light. [See v. 99.]

(3) If this Chapter should be lighted upon by a Reader in whom the Fire of the Holy Spirit should be somewhat weak, I fear the Devil would be very busy to set upon him, tempting him to doubt whether the Things set down here be so or no, that his kingdom might not stand so very naked, nor his Shame be so quite discovered.

(9) Whither he be loose or no, I offer it to every one to consider; view but the World in the clear Light, and thou wilt find, that at present the four new Sons which the Devil generated when he was thrust out of Heaven, govern the World, viz. 1. Pride, 2. Covetousness, 3. Envy, 4. Wrath; these rule the World at present, and are the Devil's Heart, his animated or soulful Spirit.

(36) For he hides the noble Grain of Mustard-seed, so that Man does not know himself. And then the World supposes, that he is thus plagued and smitten of God, whereby the Devil's Kingdom remains always hidden and undiscovered.

(94) that the Spirit first goes over the astringent and bitter Qualities unperceived, it signifies, that the Gate of God is every where in this World all over, wherein the Holy Ghost rules, and that the Heaven stands open every where, even in the Midst or Center of the Earth; and that the Devil no where can either see, comprehend, or apprehend the Heaven, but is a grumbling and snarling Hell-Hound, which afterwards first comes out from behind, when the Holy Ghost has built or raised to himself a Church and Temple, and destroys it in the Wrath, and bangs behind at the Word as an Enemy, who will not endure that a Temple of God should be raised or built in his Land or Country, whereby his Kingdom might be lessened or diminished. Of the Third Day.

(6) For I do it not out of a Desire of Boasting and Vain-glory, but in a humble Information to the Reader, that thereby the Works of God might be somewhat better known, and the Devil’s Kingdom revealed and laid open, seeing this present modern World moves and lives in all Malice, Wickedness, and devilishly vicious Blasphemies, that it might once see in what kind of Power, Impulse, or Driving it lives, and in what kind of Inn it takes up its Lodging. And

(1) HERE the Devil will oppose like a snarling Dog, for his Shame will be discovered; and he will give the Reader many a sore Stroke, and always put him in doubt that these Things are not so.

(61) the Devil can reach half into this Birth, so far as the Wrath comprehends or reaches, and no deeper, and thus far goes his Dwelling, and no deeper; therefore the Devil cannot know how the other Part in this Birth has a Root; and so far Man is come in his Knowledge from the Beginning of the World to this Time, since his Fall. But the other Root, called the Heaven, the Spirit has kept that hidden and concealed from Man till this time, lest the Devil should have learned it from Man, and should have strewed Poison into it for Man before his Eyes.

(23) But now the holy God would not let this Place of his Body, understand the Space or Room of this World, stand in eternal Darkness and Ignominy, and leave it to the Devils for their proper own, but generated a new Regiment or Dominion of Light, and of all the seven qualifying or fountain Spirits of the Deity, which the Devil could neither apprehend, nor lay hold on or touch; neither was it useful or profitable to him at all.

(35) But seeing the Devils kindled themselves out of Pride, Wantonness, and Wickedness; therefore they were quite thrust out from the Birth or Geniture of the Light; and they can neither lay hold of, or comprehend it eternally.

(43) On the other hand, the life of the natural man, where he hath a lively, subtle, cunning nature, is so manifold and complex, and seeketh and inventeth so many turnings and windings and falsehoods for its own ends, and that so continually, that this also is neither to be uttered nor set forth. Now, since all falsehood is deceived, and all deception beginneth in self-deception, so is it also with this false Light and Life, for he who deceiveth is also deceived, as we have said before. And in this false Light and Life is found everything that belongeth to the Evil Spirit and is his, insomuch that they cannot be discerned apart; for the false Light is the Evil Spirit, and the Evil Spirit is this false Light. Hereby we may know this. For even as the Evil Spirit thinketh himself to be God, or would fain be God, or be thought to be God, and in all this is so utterly deceived that he doth not think himself to be deceived, so is it also with this false Light, and the Love and Life that is thereof. And as the Devil would fain deceive all men, and draw them to himself and his works, and make them like himself, and useth much art and cunning to this end, so is it also with this false Light; and as no one may turn the Evil Spirit from his own way, so no one can turn this deceived and deceitful Light from its errors. And the cause thereof is, that both these two, the Devil and Nature, vainly think that they are not deceived, and that it standeth quite well with them. And this is the very worst and most mischievous delusion. Thus the Devil and Nature are one, and where nature is conquered the Devil is also conquered, and, in like manner, where nature is not conquered the Devil is not conquered. Whether as touching the outward life in the world, or the inward life of the spirit, this false Light continueth in its state of blindness and falsehood, so that it is both deceived itself and deceiveth others with it, wheresoever it may. From what hath here been said, ye may understand and perceive more than hath been expressly set forth. For whenever we speak of the Adam, and disobedience, and of the old man, of self-seeking, self-will, and self-serving, of the I, the Me, and the Mine, nature, falsehood, the Devil, sin; it is all one and the same thing. These are all contrary to God, and remain without God.

(40) Now the False Light teacheth them this very doctrine, and showeth them all the means to come by their desire; therefore all those follow after it, who know not the True Light. And thus they are together deceived. It is said of Antichrist, that when he cometh, he who hath not the seal of God in his forehead, followeth after him, but as many as have the seal follow not after him. This agreeth with what hath been said. It is indeed true, that it is good for a man that he should desire, or come by his own good. But this cannot come to pass so long as a man is seeking, or purposing his own good; for if he is to find and come by his own highest good, he must lose it that he may find it. As Christ said: “He who loveth his life shall lose it.” That is; he shall forsake and die to the desires of the flesh, and shall not obey his own will nor the lusts of the body, but obey the commands of God and those who are in authority over him, and not seek his own, either in spiritual or natural things, but only the praise and glory of God in all things. For he who thus loseth his life shall find it again in Eternal Life. That is: all the goodness, help, comfort, and joy which are in the creature, in heaven or on earth, a true lover of God findeth comprehended in God Himself; yea, unspeakably more, and as much nobler and more perfect as God the Creator is better, nobler, and more perfect than His creature. But by these excellences in the creature the False Light is deceived, and seeketh nothing but itself and its own in all things. Therefore it cometh never to the right way. Further, this False Light saith, that we should be without conscience or sense of sin, and that it is a weakness and folly to have anything to do with them: and this it will prove by saying that Christ was without conscience or sense of sin. We may answer and say: Satan is also without them, and is none the better for that. Mark what a sense of sin is. It is that we perceive how man has turned away from God in his will (this is what we call sin), and that this is man’s fault, not God’s, for God is guiltless of sin. Now, who is there that knoweth himself to be free from sin save Christ alone? Scarcely will any other affirm this. Now he who is without sense of sin is either Christ or the Evil Spirit. Briefly: where this True Light is, there is a true, just life such as God loveth and esteemeth. And if the man’s life is not perfect as Christ’s was, yet it is framed and builded after His, and his life is loved, together with all that agreeth with decency, order, and all other virtues, and all Self-will, I, Mine, Me, and the like, is lost; nothing is purposed or sought but Goodness, for the sake of Goodness, and as Goodness. But where that False Light is, there men become heedless of Christ’s life and all virtue, and seek and intend whatever is convenient and pleasant to nature. From this ariseth a false, licentious freedom, so that men grow regardless and careless of everything. For the True Light is God’s seed, and therefore it bringeth forth the fruits of God. And so likewise the False Light is the seed of the Devil; and where that is sown, the fruits of the Devil spring up—nay, the very Devil himself. This ye may understand by giving heed to what hath been said.

(8) though they did Miracles and Wonders, and showed great Signs, yet the World gazed only on high Things, and the Holy Ghost must be as the Dust under their Feet: For the proud Devil always endeavoured to be King in this World. And

(20) Accordingly they spread darkness over the light of intelligence, the spirit attracting the exhalations that arise from lust, and thickening the masses of the passions by persistency in pleasures. Gold is not taken from the earth in the lump, but is purified by smelting; then, when made pure. it is called gold, the earth being purified. For "Ask, and it shall be given you," it is said to those who are able of themselves to choose what is best. And how we say that the powers of the devil, and the unclean spirits, sow into the sinner's soul, requires no more words from me, on adducing as a witness the apostolic Barnabas (and he was one of the seventy? and a fellow-worker of Paul), who speaks in these words: "Before we believed in God, the dwelling-place of our heart was unstable, truly a temple built with hands.