(15) Concerning this kindling in this circumference or extent, it is that God calls himself an angry, zealous or jealous God against those that hate him; that is, against those who kindle his wrath and fierceness still more with their diabolical spirits, with swearing, cursing, blaspheming, and all manner of furious fierceness and wrath, which stick in the heart, with pride, covetousness, envy and anger. All that whatsoever is in thee, thou castest into God; ["that is, into the genitrix of nature, and therefore that must be proved and tried through the fire, and the soul's spirit also, and the wickedness or malice must abide and remain in the fire."] Now thou askest, How can that be? Answer.

(54) Man cannot be absolutely or wholly pure, or devoid of wrath and sin, for the births of the depth in this world are not fully pure before the heart of God [Job XV. 15]; love and wrath always wrestle the one with the other, whence God is called [Exod. XX. 5., Deut V. 9.] an angry zealous God.

(72) And though it is written in Moses, I am [Exod. XX. 5.] an angry, zealous God [Deut iv. 24], yet the meaning of it is not that God is angry in himself, and that there ariseth a fire of anger in the Holy Trinity.

(11) For God saith in the Prophet [Ezek. xxxiii. 11], As true as I live, I have no delight or pleasure in the death of a sinner, but that he turn and live; and in the Psalms it is thus [Psalm v. 4.], Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickedness,

(74) If God should be angry in himself, then the whole nature would be on fire, which will come once to pass on the last day, in nature, but not in God, in God the triumphing joy will burn; it was never otherwise from eternity, nor will it ever be otherwise.

(21) Now the question is, What in heaven is the wrath of God? And whether God be angry in himself; or how is God moved to anger? Answer. Here there are chiefly seven sorts of qualities or circumstances to be observed. I. Of the First Species or Circumstance.

(16) For thus saith the spirit in its zeal, or in the jealousy of God's wrath in this world: While thy spirit and will qualifieth or cooperateth with and in the four vices or sins of the devil, thou art not one spirit with God; and though thou didst every hour offer [the worship or prayer of] thy lips, and bow the knee before me, yet I will accept none of thy labour: Is not my breath, however, continually before me? What shall thy incense be to me in my fierce wrath? Dost thou think I will receive the devil into myself, or exalt hell into heaven?

(70) But seeing it runneth counter, quite contrary to the love and meekness of the birth or geniture of God, and is a contrary or opposite will in the love of God, so that he is loath to hurt man, unless pressing necessity driveth him to it, therefore will the spirit have the wrath-bath or lake of nature set apart to be an eternal parching or drying place for jugglers, perverters or changers of God's ordinance or order: And therein they may practise and shew forth their new deity. Of the kindling of the Wrath-fire.

(73) Thou must not think that the devil has thus powerfully and mightily overcome the Deity. No; but he has kindled the wrath of God, which, indeed, had otherwise rested eternally in secret, and so he has made the Salitter of God to be a murderous den; for if fire be cast into a heap of straw, and the straw kindled, it will burn. God has not, on that account become a devil.

(36) Further ye shall mark: when it is said that such a thing or such a deed is contrary to God, or that such a thing is hateful to God and grieveth His Spirit, ye must know that no creature is contrary to God, or hateful or grievous unto Him, in so far as it is, liveth, knoweth, hath power to do, or produce ought, and so forth, for all this is not contrary to God. That an evil spirit, or a man is, liveth, and the like, is altogether good and of God; for God is the Being of all that are, and the Life of all that live, and the Wisdom of all the wise; for all things have their being more truly in God than in themselves, and also all their powers, knowledge, life, and the rest; for if it were not so, God would not be all good; And thus all creatures are good. Now what is good is agreeable to God, and He will have it. Therefore it cannot be contrary to Him. But what then is there which is contrary to God and hateful to Him? Nothing but Sin. But what is Sin? Mark this: Sin is nothing else than that the creature willeth otherwise than God willeth, and contrary to Him. Each of us may see this in himself; for he who willeth otherwise than I, or whose will is contrary to mine, is my foe; but he who willeth the same as I, is my friend, and I love him.

(60) They who stir up the wrath of God upon themselves, that wrath stands also in all the spirits of God, in that place where it is awakened, stirred up or provoked. On the other side, where the love of God is awakened or stirred up, there it also stands in the full birth or geniture of the whole Deity, of or in the place or thing wherein it is awakened.

(97) Should God withstand him then with anger or wrath, (which indeed must be done at length), then God must have kindled himself in his qualities in the Salitter, wherein king Lucifer dwelt, and must in the strong zeal or jealousy strive and fight against him, which he did; and so this striving made this kingdom so dark, waste and evil, that another creation must needs afterwards follow upon it.

(37) In God, as God, neither sorrow nor grief nor displeasure can have place, and yet God is grieved on account of men’s sins. Now since grief cannot befall God without the creature, this cometh to pass where He is made man, or when He dwelleth in a Godlike man. And there, behold, sin is so hateful to God, and grieveth Him so sore, that He would willingly suffer agony and death, if one man’s sins might be thereby washed out. And if He were asked whether He would rather live and that sin should remain, or die and destroy sin by His death, He would answer that He would a thousand times rather die. For to God one man’s sin is more hateful, and grieveth Him worse than His own agony and death. Now if one man’s sin grieveth God so sore, what must the sins of all men do? Hereby ye may consider, how greatly man grieveth God with his sins. And therefore where God is made man, or when He dwelleth in a truly Godlike man, nothing is complained of but sin, and nothing else is hateful; for all that is, and is done, without sin, is as God will have it, and is His. But the mourning and sorrow of a truly Godlike man on account of sin, must and ought to last until death, should he live till the Day of Judgment, or for ever.

(117) But that the astringent and bitter spirit does so grumble and murmur, when the spirit from the heart goeth through its house, and ruleth powerfully, signifieth that the wrath of God, together with the devils, are, in the house of this world, set in opposition to the love, so that both these, all the time of this world, must fight and strive one against the other, as two armies in the field; from whence also wars and fightings among men, and among beasts, and all creatures, have their original.

(131) Therefore if any one should be damned into hell, he ought not to say that God has done it, or that God willeth it to be so; but man awakeneth or stirreth up the wrath-fire in himself, which, if it grows burning, afterwards qualifieth, mixeth or uniteth with God's wrath and the hellish fire, as one thing.

(76) When he is wroth, no god can withstand his indignation