(24) Now when the historical Christendom and the true Christians grew together, the Scepter was always among the Learned, who exalted themselves, and made themselves potent, and great; and the simple [Church] yielded to it as right; and yet there was a Desire after the Kingdom of God found in Men, viz. the noble Word of God (which had imprinted itself in the Promise [in Paradise,] in the Light of Life, and which was made stirring by Christ) that drove them indeed to the Fear of God. And then they built great Houses of Stone, and called every one thither; and they said that the Holy Ghost was powerful there, and they must come thither; besides, they durst be so impudent as to say (when they were found to be so wicked and malicious) that the Holy Ghost was powerfully in the Mouth of the Wicked.

(53) His disciples said to Him, "Is circumcision beneficial or not?" He said to them, "If it were beneficial, their father would beget them already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become completely profitable."

(15) And on the selfsame day1 was Abraham circumcised, and all the men of his house, (and those born in the house), and all those, whom he had bought with money from the children of the stranger, were circumcised with, him.

(1) And after this they will turn to Me in all uprightness and with all (their) heart and with all (their) soul, and I shall circumcise the foreskin of their heart and the foreskin of the heart of their seed, and I shall create in them a holy spirit, and I shall cleanse them so that they shall not turn away from Me from that day unto eternity.

(31) Look upon Saint Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, who converted three Thousand Souls at one Sermon, he spoke not from the Appointment of the Pharisees, but out of the Spirit of Moses and the Prophets, out of the Temple of the Holy Ghost, that pierced through and enlightened the poor Sinners. But thou teachest Persecution only, consider thereby whence thou didst grow, viz. out of that first Stock, where they fell from the Temple of Christ to human Conceits and Inventions; where they sent forth Teachers according to Man's itching Ears, for a fair Show, that thereby thou mightest grow great in thy Pride; and because thou hast sought nothing else, therefore God has suffered thee to fall into a perverse Sense, so that out of thee there come those that blaspheme the true Doctrine of Christ.

(2) Surely of them that have power, and cure of their souls: either given openly by the statute and the ordinance of Holy Church, or else privily in spirit at the special stirring of the Holy Ghost in perfect charity. Each man beware, that he presume not to take upon him to blame and condemn other men’s defaults, but if he feel verily that he be stirred of the Holy Ghost within in his work; for else may he full lightly err in his dooms. And therefore beware: judge thyself as thee list betwixt thee and thy God or thy ghostly father, and let other men alone.

(15) He that is born in thy house will surely be circum- cised, and those whom thou hast bought with money will be circumcised, and My covenant will be in your flesh for an eternal ordinance.

(131) For the Holy Ghost will not be caught, held or retained in the sinful flesh, but riseth up like a flash of lightning, as fire flashes and sparkles out of a stone, when a man strikes fire upon it.

(34) It continued a long Time in the Covenant of Circumcision (in the Life and Light of the Father) with the Shadows and Types of the Incarnation of the Son; but these could not reach the Earnestness of the Coming again of the Body out of the Grave; but the Word must become Man, if Man must rise again out of the Grave. It [the Covenant] ransomed the Soul indeed, so. that it could stand before the Father (in the Gate of the Corruptibility) in the Fire of the Sharpness, but not in the pleasant Joy, before the Light of the holy Trinity; and besides, it could not bring the new Body forth out of the Element, for it was defiled too much with Sin.

(4) There were opened all the Doors of the great Wonders, and the Apostles spoke with the Languages of all Nations; and so it may 6e seen clearly, that the Spirit of God had opened all the Centers of all Essences, and spoke out of them all; for Christ was the Lord, and the Heart of all Essences, and therefore the Holy Ghost went out of all Essences, and filled the Essences of all Men who turned their Ears with a Desire to it, and in that he pressed into all; and every one heard (out of his own Essences and Language) the Spirit of God speak out of the Disciples; and the Holy Ghost was born in the Bodies of all their Hearers, who had but an earnest Desire to it, and they were all filled; for the Spirit of God pierced through into their Hearts, as he pressed forth out of the the Center of the Trinity into the whole Body and princely Throne of Jesus Christ, and filled all outwardly in the Clarity [or Glory.]

(21) Then those men who will follow after him will introduce circumcision. And he will pronounce judgment upon those who are from the uncircumcision, who are the (true) people. For in fact he sent many preachers beforehand, who preached on his behalf.

(63) On the other hand, it is highly to be rejoiced at, that man's spirit, in his necessity, becometh enlightened and kindled by the Holy Ghost: [just] as the sun kindleth the cold heat in a tree or herb, whereby the cold chilled heat becometh living. Now observe:

(5) "Wherefore thus saith the Lord, Every alien son is uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh" (that is, unclean in body and soul): "there shall not enter one of the strangers into the midst of the house of Israel, but the Lerites." He calls those that would not believe, but would disbelieve, strangers. Only those who live purely being true priests of God. Wherefore, of all the circumcised tribes, those anointed to be high priests, and kings, and prophets, were reckoned more holy. Whence He commands them not to touch dead bodies, or approach the dead; not that the body was polluted, but that sin and disobedience were incarnate, and embodied, and dead, and therefore abominable.

(20) And so it goeth forth from all the powers of the angel, as also from the light of the angel; as the Holy Ghost goeth forth from the Father and the Son, and filleth the whole corpus or body. Now observe the great Mystery.

(143) For as the Holy Ghost goeth forth from the light, and formeth, figureth and imageth all, and reigneth in all, such also is the power and gracious, amiable blessedness of a Cherubim, who is the king and heart of all his angels; that is, when his angels do but behold him they are all then infected and touched with the will of their king.

(1) But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us?

(4) Now the Scripture witnesses throughout, and the new-born Man finds it so, that when the Soul is new-born in the Light of God, then on the contrary it finds, how very humble, meek, courteous, and cheerful it is; it readily bears all Manner of Crosses and Persecution; it turns the Body from out of the Way of the Wicked; it regards no Reproach, Disgrace, or Scorn, put upon it from the Devil, or Man; it places its Confidence, Refuge, and Love, in the Heart of God; it is very chearful; it is fed by the Word of God, in which there is a paradisical Exulting and Triumph; it cannot be [hurt, or so much as] touched by the Devil. For it is in its own Substance (wherein it stands in the first Principle of the indissoluble Band) enlightened with the Light of God; and the Holy Ghost, who goes forth out of the eternal Birth of the Father in the Heart, and in the Light of the Heart of God, he goes forth in it, and establishes it the Child of God.

(17) For as the Holy Ghost goeth forth from the Father and the Son, and distinguished and sharpeneth all, and effecteth or produceth that which the Father speaketh through the Word:

(15) And now I announce unto thee that the children of Israel will not keep true to this ordinance, and they will not circumcise their sons according to all this law ; for in the flesh of their circumcision they will omit this circumcision of their sons, and all of them, sons of Beliar, will leave their sons uncircumcised as they were born.

(117) For it is and comprehendeth the power, as God the Holy Ghost does; and in this there is no difference at all between God the Holy Ghost and the spirit of the body, but only this, that the Holy Spirit of God is the whole fulness, and the spirit of the body is but a piece or part, which presseth through the whole fulness, and wherever it cometh, there it is mixed or affected with the place, and presently ruleth with God in the same place.