(96) Therefore let every one enter into himself, and not speak of another, and hold his Way to be false; but look that he turn himself, and have a Care, that he be not found in the Anger of the Devourer; else if he should hoop, and halloo, and laughing say, Look how Babel burns, then he must be burnt and consumed also, for he is Fuel for that Fire; and whosoever feels a Thought in himself, that does but wish for the Anger [to devour,] 1 that proceeds from Babel.

(2) Therefore let every one look to it, and take Heed of the seeming holy Hypocrites and Flatterers, for they are Antichrist's (and not Christ'Ministers [or Servants;] for Antichrist has set his Foot upon the Breadth of the Earth, and rides upon the abominable devouring Beast, which is as great as himself, and indeed greater. Therefore it is highly necessary, that every one should feel [or grope] in his own Bosom, and consider his Heart, how it is inclined, that he do not deceive himself, and unknown to himself yield himself to be the [Servant or] Minister of Antichrist, and fulfill that Prophecy; for P he stands now in the Light of the Eyes; the Time of his Visitation is at Hand; he shall be manifested in the Light of Life. And beware of Covetousness, for thou shalt not enjoy it; for the Wrath of the Beast breaks the Mountains and Hills to Pieces; and thy Covetousness will partake of the Fierceness; the Time is near.

(95) Therefore let this be told you, ye Jews, Turks, and other Nations; you need not look for any other, there is no other Time at hand, but the Time of the Lily; and the Sign of that [Time] is the i Sign of Elias. Therefore take Heed in what Spirit you live, that the Fire of Anger do not devour you, and keat you up. It is high Time to cast Jezabel with her Whoredoms out of the House, lest you receive the Wages of the Whore, and as you revile one another, so you devour one another. Truly, if the contentious Disputations be not suddenly stayed, the Fire will burn out aloft over Babel; and then there will be no Remedy, till the Anger eats up and consumes all whatsoever is in it.

(8) But the Time is coming, when the Aurora or Day Spring will break forth, and then the Beast, that evil Child [or Child of Perdition] shall stand forth naked and in great Shame; for the Judgement of the Whore of the great Beast goes on. Therefore awake and fly away ye Children of God, that you bring not the Mark of the great evil Beast upon your Forehead with you, before the clear Light; or else you will have great Shame and Confusion of Face therewith. It is now high Time to awake from Sleep, for the Bridegroom makes himself ready to fetch home his Bride, and he comes with a clear shining Light: they that shall have Oil in their Lamps, their Lamps shall be kindled, and they shall be Guests; but those that shall have no Oil, their Lamps shall continue dark, and they shall sleep still, and retain the Marks of the Beast till the Sun rise, and then they shall be horribly affrighted, and stand in eternal Shame; for the Judgement shall be executed; the Children of God shall observe it, but those that sleep shall sleep till Day. Further of the Birth.

(50) Behold, thou noble Mind, thou who desirest the Kingdom of God, to thee we speak, and not to the Antichrist in Babel, who desires nothing else but the Kingdom of this World; take Notice of it, the Time of Sleep is past, the Bridegroom comes, for the Bride says, Come, be in Earnest, gaze not at the Hand that used this Pen, it is another Pen that has written this, which neither thou nor I do know; for the Mind (if it be faithful) apprehends the Deity; and do not so slight thyself; if thou art born in God, then thou art greater and more than all this World.

(71) Saying, "The voice told you to place an arrow on the bow, It did not bid you draw the bowstring to the utmost; It did not bid you draw the bow with all your might; It said, 'Adjust an arrow,' not 'Draw the bow fully.' You elevated the bow to excess, You magnified unduly the bowman's art, Go! abandon this strong bowmanship, Fix an arrow on the string, but make it not fly far. When it falls, dig in that spot and search, Abandon force and seek the treasure with humility."

(2) Hear ye then with your ears; see ye the bright flames with the (eyes of the) Better Mind. It is for a decision as to religions, man and man, each individually for himself. Before the great effort of the cause, awake ye (all) to our teaching!

(19) The horse is galloping, yet the rider is hid from view. The arrow speeds forth, yet the bow is not seen; Souls are seen, the Soul of souls (God) is hidden. Break not the arrow, for it is the arrow of the King Yea, it is an arrow from the bow of Wisdom. "Ye shot not when ye shot," was said by God; God's action has predominance over all actions. Break your own passion, break not that arrow, Kiss that arrow and bear it to the King,

(18) Although such Revelations have been hidden [or concealed] from the Beginning of the World, yet because it must now go into its Ether, and into the Breaking-through, therefore all stands naked, whatsoever has been hidden in Nature; and there shall very great Things (which have been hidden) be revealed [or manifested;] and this Mystery is the Break of Day. Therefore it is Time to awake, for the Awakening of the Dead is near at Hand.

(15) Where is now thy Authority, thy Honour, thy Riches, thy Pomp and Bravery, thy Power, wherewith thou hast terrified the Needy, and hast made the Right bow and bend to thy Will? Behold, it is all in Substance, and stands before thee; the Oppressed read thy Lesson to thee; all that was rightly spoken [by thee] in this World, is there recalled again, and thou abidest (in thy Unrighteousness) in Falshood; all Lying and Deceit stand manifest in the Substance, all thy Words stand in the Tincture in the Substance of Eternity before thee, and are thy Looking-glass; they will be thy eternal gnawing Whelps, and the Book of thy Comfort and Trust. Therefore do but think what thou wilt do; wilt thou not then curse and judge thyself?

(33) As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back.

(33) But let every one enter into himself, and labour to be a righteous Man, and fear God, and do right, and consider that this his Work shall appear in Heaven before God, and that he stands every Moment before the Face of God, and that all his Works shall follow after him, and then the Lily of God springs and grows, and the World stands in its Seculum. AMEN.

(68) Come hither, ye contentious Shepherds of Babel, open your Eyes, and consider what his Testaments of the Baptism and his Last Supper are: I shall show you well enough, if you be but worthy; however, we write for the Children of the Lily; therefore let every one see where he harbours; it is in Earnest. We slight not the Understanding of the Ancients. It may be, it was purely generated in the Beginning, but we find how Antichrist has set up himself upon it, and made Gods of the Creature.

(97) Therefore it is very hard to know Babel; every one supposes that he is not in it; and yet the Spirit shows me, that Babel incloses the whole Earth; therefore let every one look to his own Ways, and not hunt after Covetousness, for the Driver destroys it, and the Stormer eats it up and consumes it; the Council of the wise Man will not help then; all the Wisdom of this World is Folly; for that oFire is from the Anger of God; your Wisdom will turn to your Hurt and Scorn. Of Christ's Ascension into Heaven.

(78) Therefore beware of the Longing [Lust or Desire;] and say not in thyself, I stand in the Dark, the Lord sees me not, [nor] what I think and do. He stands in the Gate of the Mind, where the Soul stands (before the clear Face of God) in the opened Gate; and all thy Abominations are known before God, and thou makest the Element of God blush [or change Colour] with them; thou grievest the chaste Virgin (which dwells in her own Center, and is given to be a Companion to thee in thy Mind) and makest her sad; she warns thee of the Way of the Ungodly; if thou followest [her Counsel,] and turnest, and breakest in unto her, by earnest Repentance, then she crowns thee in thy Mind with Wisdom and Understanding, that thou mayest then very well avoid the Devil; but if they doest not, then thou fallest out of one Sin and Abomination into another, and makest thy Measure full and running over, and then the Devil helps thee into his Kingdom, and thou art very serviceable to him; for thou art a true Scourge to the Children of God, not only with Reproaching, but also in Deeds [or in the Work of thy Hands,] which the Devil dares not do; thou doest him acceptable service. He amuses thee finely with the Name [i of God,] so that thou bringest forth from thy Lips, and teachest it; but thy Heart is a Thief and

(61) Is made to revolve by the strokes of the King's hand. O man of double vision, hearken with attention, Many are the holy words that find no entrance Into blind hearts, but they enter hearts full of light. But the deceits of Satan enter crooked hearts, Though you repeat pious expressions again and again, If you are a fool, they affect you not at all; Nay, not though you set them down in writing, And though you proclaim them vauntingly; Wisdom averts its face from you, O man of sin,

(21) Have a care lest one day they prevail over you! He in whose breast the leaf of true faith is grown Thou makest a mock of Iblis and the Devil, Because thou art a fine man in thy own sight; But when thy soul shall tell thy wretched faults, What lamentation thou wilt cause to the faithful! The sellers of base gold sit smiling in their shops, O Veiler of sins! strip not the veil from us; Lend us aid on the day of trial!

(11) As poison that has reached the blood spreads through the body, so the sin that finds a weak spot spreads through the spirit. A man carrying a bowl full of oil, surrounded by soldiers with drawn swords, in fear of death if he should trip, will walk needfully; and so it is with him that is under the vow. Then when slumber and faintness fall upon him, he will strive against them as speedily as one springs up when a serpent is creeping into his lap. Whenever he is caught unawares, he will be sorely grieved, and consider what he should do that it may not befall him again. For the sake of this he will desire godly company or tasks to come in his way, that his remembrance may be exercised in these conditions. Remembering the Sermon on Heedfulness, he will hold himself in readiness, so that even before a task comes to him he is prepared to turn to every course. As the seed of the cotton-tree is swayed at the coming and going of the wind, so will he be obedient to his resolution; and thus divine power is gained.

(40) Do not behold thyself, thou blind Mind, and consider thyself, where is thy angelical Form in thee? Why art thou so angry, stern, [fierce, froward,] and malicious? Wherefore dost thou elevate thyself still in thy Wickedness, in Pride, in Might [or Authority,] and Pomp, and boasteth thyself for a brave and potent Beast? What is it that thou dost? Wherefore hast thou High and Low. let the Spirit of this World into thee, which seduces thee (as it lists) into High-mindedness, into [proud] Stoutness, into P Potency and Pomp, into Covetousness and Lying, into Falshood and Treachery, as also into Sickness and Corruption, [or Frailty?]

(34) Or shall not the Spirit set it down before thy Eyes, thou lascivious filthy Strumpet? Behold, how hast thou broken the State of Wedlock, and opened a Door to Whoredom, so that no Sin is regarded; hast thou not ridden i upon thy Beast, when every one gazed on thee, and rode after thee [in thy Train?] Or art thou not that fine painted [adorned Whore?] Dost thou suppose we set thee forth in vain? The Judgment stands over thee, the Sword is begotten, and it will devour. Go out [from] Babel, and thou shalt live; though we saw a Fire in Babel, and that Babel was burning, yet it shall not burn those that go out from kit.