Men in the fall are in the wars and strife, but truth restores and brings into peace. (1656)
Dear Friends, - My love is to you all in the everlasting seed of God, that never changes nor falls, nor gives itself to that which doth change, which is not of this world, but is over it, and was before the world was; in which is the steadfastness, and stayedness, and life eternal. Which reigns over all the airy spirits, (and that which doth change,) and remains, and is as the winter fruit, and stands when all the untimely figs are gone. Mark, and the seed is not as the corn that grows upon the housetop, that withers; for the leaves that this seed brings forth, never fade nor fall; for the leaves thereof heal the nations which are wounded. The second Adam goes over Adam in the fall, and his quarrelling sons and daughters, who war one with another with their carnal weapons, who remain in their carnal worships, carnal fellowships, carnal teachings. But who are in the noble and royal seed, are all in peace, and in love, and in life, and in unity, and are in the spiritual worship, and spiritual fellowship, and spiritual teaching, being in the seed, Christ, that never fell, nor never will fall, nor never changed nor never will change. In this seed, Christ, is peace and rest, out of all troubles, out of all whimsies, foolish dreams, imaginations, fancies, false visions, false revelations. For the seed, in which the blessing is, is felt, and the life, and the light, and the righteousness, and the truth, that answers the witness of God in all men and women whether they will hear or forbear. And so, all that are in the fall, both men and women, and there remaining in the fall, they never are in rest nor peace, but are in travails, wars, strife, fightings; the lusts being the grounds of all this. And whimsies and imaginations, fancies, false visions, false dreams, arrogancy, pride, ambition, swellings, puffed-upness, that brings shame and covers them with shame; which they possess that are in the fall, our of Christ, the second Adam that never fell, the quickener, who awakens old Adam's children in the fall out of their sleep of sin, and brings them out of his ways up unto himself, the way, Christ that never fell nor changed, and out of and from his teachers, priests, and shepherd, etc., that change and fall, to the priest, shepherd, and prophet, that never fell nor ever changed, nor will ever fall or change, nor leave the flock in the cold weather, nor in the winter, nor storms, nor tempests; nor doth the voice of the wolf frighten him from his flock. For the light, the power, the truth, the righteousness, did it ever leave you in any weather, or in any storms or tempests? And so his sheep know his voice and follow him, who gives them life eternal abundantly; who saith to all that are dead in Adam, "I am come," mark, I am come, "that ye (dead in Adam) might have life." Christ, the second Adam is come, that the dead in the first Adam might have life, and might be quickened, and might be awakened to righteousness, who are asleep in unrighteousness. And so he doth invite all Adams's posterity to come to him, that all through him might believe, and come to light, and come to life, and come up into peace and rest; for in the second Adam ye have peace, ye have rest. So they have no peace nor rest in the old Adam in the fall, but in the second Adam, Christ, that never fell, are the rest, and the peace, and the life. But in Adam in the fall is neither rest, nor peace, nor life; but darkness, and trouble and sorrow, and burdenings, and changings. And this Adam's sons and daughters in the fall do inherit and possess in the world. Therefore all come out of Adam in the fall, and haste to him that never fell, nor ever changed; in whom ye have all both rest, and peace, and life, that was with the Father before the world began.
And so, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that never fell, keep your meetings, ye who are gathered in his name; and then ye will see over all the gatherings of old Adam's sons and daughters, that are in the fall and out of his name. But ye being gathered into his name, that never fell, Christ Jesus, feel the seed of God set over all that that makes to suffer; which was before that was, and will stand and remain when that is all gone. So farewell.
