A vvarning to the nations to lay aside all prejudice and enmity the ground of strife and wars and to come and embrace the light, Christ Jesus ... Taylor, Thomas, 1618-1682. 1667 Approx. 20 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 6 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-11 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A64267 Wing T592 ESTC R11166 11994934 ocm 11994934 52082 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A64267) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 52082) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 829:13) A vvarning to the nations to lay aside all prejudice and enmity the ground of strife and wars and to come and embrace the light, Christ Jesus ... Taylor, Thomas, 1618-1682. 11 p. s.n., [London : 1667] Reproduction of original in Huntington Library. Caption title. Signed on p. 11: Thomas Taylor. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO. EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Salvation. Society of Friends -- Doctrines. 2004-07 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2004-07 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2004-08 John Latta Sampled and proofread 2004-08 John Latta Text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-10 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A WARNING TO THE NATIONS , To Lay aside all Prejudice and Enmity , The Ground of Strife and Wars ; And to come and Embrace the Light , Christ Jesus , that they may see themselves , and come to be Saved and Healed , and United in the Love of God. THe Indignation of the Lord is upon all Nations , and his Fury upon all their Armies ; he will greatly distress the Inhabitants of the World ; he will now plead the Cause of his Covenant of Light against all those that withstand his Glorious Appearance , and Work of Restoration , in this the Day of his Mighty Power , wherein he is giving the Kingdom of his Everlasting Peace to Israel's Seed under the whole Heavens , who fear his Great Name , and tremble at his Almighty Word of Life , which shakes not onely Earth , but Heaven also : And now is the Lord God Almighty bringing forth his Glory to light , and creating the New Heavens and new Earth , wherein dwells Righteousness , according to his Promise , Isa. 65. 17 , &c. wherein the People beat their Swords into Plough-shares , and their Spears into Pruning-hooks , never to learn War any more ; but every one now that believes in the Truth , Christ Jesus , the Light and true King of Righteousness and Peace , shall sit under him , the true Vine , and none to make them afraid , Isa. 2. 2 , &c. And now , even now is the Lord God Almighty arisen , & got up into his high Throne of Majesty and Everlasting Glory to Raign ; and of this his Peaceable Kingdom , which he hath begun to set up in his Trembling People , there never shall be End. The true Israel of God is now coming up out of the spiritual Egypt indeed , to possess the true Land of Promise , the Inheritance and free Gift of our God ; and no Inchantment shall now stand against God's Spiritual Host , nor Divination against the Redeemed of the Lord , who have known his Wonders in the Deep , and known the Out-goings of God's Power against Pharaoh , and all his Host in the Red Sea of his Fiery Indignation . And now will God be exalted in Judgment , and avenged in Righteousness upon all Nations and People under Heaven , who hold the Truth in Unrighteousness , and will not that God's Holy Son Christ Jesus the Light should reign , though he be come to Reign and Judge in the Earth . For to him , the Light who lighteth every man that cometh into the World , is all Power in Heaven and Earth given . And his Light shines freely into all your Hearts , O all People of the Earth ; and shineth in the thickest Darkness to make manifest the Creator's Will to all your Consciences , though your Darkness , O People , comprehends it not ; but it comprehends you , and all your dark Wayes , and destroying Thoughts ; and lets you see plainly , That for all your great Workings , and toilsom Labour in an Out-side Profession in your Earthly Wills , you have wrought no Deliverance in the Earth ; but your Souls Enemies still stand in strength . And it lets you see , that for all your Striving , and Fighting , and Killing and Spoiling , and Destroying one another about Earthly Things , you have done no good at all ; but brought God's Judgments upon all your Souls , and pierced your selves through with many Sorrows . And therefore the Heavenly Voice sounds through the Earth , and calls aloud in your Ears , and knocks at the Door of your Hearts , O all People of the World , High and Low , Professor and Prophane , Jews and Gentiles , Christians , so called , and Turks ; Arise , Arise , Awake , Awake , turn in your Minds to the pure Light of Jesus Christ the Judge of Quick and Dead , the Son of the eternal God , Creator of Heaven and Earth , who died for your Sins , and rose again to give you a New , Holy and Everlasting Life in himself through Faith in his Name . And behold , he lives for evermore . And all see and search diligently in your selves , what you know of his Holy Life made manifest in you , to destroy the Body of Sin and Death in you , which in the dayes of Darkness hath filled your Vessel , and brought your very Soul , Mind and Heart into the Thraldom of that Wicked One , who is called the Devil and Satan , & compassed with Terrors & Fears & Affrightments your very Life , and whole Man , because of the Wrath of the Almighty , which you by your Sinful , and Unrighteous , and Unholy and Cruel Doings both against God , and your Neighbour have stirred up against you . And behold , the Earth languisheth because of these things ; And the Children of Light , who are redeemed to God , out of these sore Evils & grievous Plagues do mourn for you , and bewail your Misery Night and Day , as well knowing in the Light of the Lord , what your woful End will be , if these Bryars and Thorns and noisome Weeds ( the proper Fruits of the Curse ) be still suffered to grow in you , and cumber God's Ground . Oh! how nigh unto cursing is that Field , which God's Rain rains upon , and yet brings forth no better Fruit , then Killing , and Slaying , and Spoiling , and Cousening , and Cheating , and Defiling , and Oppressing one another , besides Lying , and Swearing , and Cursing , and Drunkenness , and Pride , and Persecution of God's Righteous Seed , with all other Abominations of the World against the Holy Light , &c. Checks and Reproofs of the good Spirit of the Almighty , both in their own Consciences , and the Mouth of God's Servants , and Holy Witness of Truth in the Scriptures ; which notwithstanding all these their Abominations many of them profess to be their Rule . But know , O Man , whoever thou art , or whatsoever Profession thou art of , that that 's thy God and Ruler , and Father , and Teacher , and Way , whose Commands thou lovest , and whose Works thou dost and whose Will in the inward of thy Mind thou closest with : as Christ said to those Lyars , false Accusers and Murderers in his Day , Joh. 8 , 44. &c. Ye are of your Father the Devil , for his Works ye will do ; he was a Lyar & Murderer from the beginning . So thou that goest from he Light of God in thee , which shows thee thy Sin , and the Evil-Lustings & Desires of thy Flesh and Mind , thou goest from God , and from his Fear , and from the Way of Peace : And so , thou going from this , and joyning to Evil Motions of Sin in thy Flesh and corrupted Mind , thou joynest to the Devil , and so bringest forth Sin , which is the Devils Work ; and the Wages of every such Work is Death . And so in the very moment of time , in which thou dost the Evil Work , whatsoever it be ( contrary to God's Light in thee ) thou dyest the Death ; and so remainest dead from the Life of God , and his blessed Righteousness , until the Day of true Repentance and Amendment of Life : And then what will it profit thee to have gained the World , or Victory over thy Neighbour , or Satisfaction to thy Lusts to the Loss of thy Soul's Life ? Therefore Arise , Arise , Awake , Awake , O all Nations and People ! come forth to the Judgment of this great Day of God Almighty : For now is the effect of every Vision to be known and felt in the Earth , and the High Towers of the City of Confusion , the Mystery Babylon the Great , the Mother of Harlots , shall fall to the Ground ; and the Mountain of the House of the Lord shall be exalted over all ; yea , the Lord alone , and his Righteousness , & Truth , and Peaceable Kingdom on the Top of all shall stand ; and no Weapon formed against him and his People shall ever prosper any more . And how is it , O all Nations , Kings and People , that ye are not yet willing after so long a time knocking at the Gates of your Cities and Doors of your Hearts , that ye will not open to the King of Glory , Christ Jesus , the Light , that lighteth every one that cometh into the World , that he may come in , and be Judge , Lawgiver and King in the midst of you , that the Desire of all Nations may come , and be Head in all ? For what is it that the Soul that God hath made in all Nations doth desire , but to see it self unburthened of that grievous Corruption , which hath defiled it , and to be delivered from that Body of Sin and Death , which hath and doth so imbondage it from the beginning , until the Day of Christ's Power be known within , to work the Work of God , and to destroy the Work of the Devil , and to save the Soul from its Sin , and to present it spotless to God , which is the true Salvation indeed ? Now this is my Witness for God amongst the Servants and Redeemed of the Lord this day , whom the World in Scorn calls Quakers ( who am a Sufferer with them for the Kingdom of God's sake ) That there is none can thus know the Day of Christ's Power to Salvation , but as they believe and receive that Light of God and Christ , which they be freely enlightened withal , which shines in their very Hearts and Consciences , which searcheth their very Hearts and Reins , and maketh manifest to man his Thoughts , and from which none can hide any thing ; but all things are naked and bare before him , the Light Christ Jesus , who lighteth every man that cometh into the World , Jew and Gentile , one and other , who searcheth the most hidden things of man , and brings them forth to the Judgment of his Righteousness . For though the Night may hide the Adulterer and the Thief from man , it hides them not from God ; there is one Nigh in the Heart and Conscience , that tells Man and Woman all that ever they have done , and do daily do , even their secret Thoughts ; Is not this the Christ of God , the true Messiah ? that was to come , and is come , and dwells amongst us , and we look not for another , and of his Fulness , have all we received , and do daily receive , who believe in his Light , which shines in our Hearts , according to the Scriptures of Truth . And this the Fulness of our Blessed God and Saviour Jesus Christ , the Light , is it which filleth all that come to him with all spiritual Blessings , and Heavenly good Things ; and without whom all is Darkness , Emptiness , Death and Desolation , as all the poor , deceived , lost Sons and Daughters of the faln Adam do sooner or later know , and are made to confess . But Blessed are they that consider of things in time , and say things to heart , before it be too late ; For there are but Twelve Hours in a day , in which men may work , saith Christ , and then the Night cometh , in which no man can work : But the Door will be shut upon all who have slighted and neglected the Day of their Visitation . Oh England ! England ! and all Lands far and near , that you had known , or could yet believe the things that belong to your Everlasting Peace , before they be hid from your Eyes . Therefore turn ye , turn ye at the Reproofs of God's Wisdom and Spirit of Light and Truth , which sounds through all , and lets you see the Vanity and Evil of all your Works , and Fraialty of all your Lives , how soon the Thread of your Life is cut off ; and then , where are the great Emperors and Kings , with all their Crowns ? And where are the great Captains and Commanders , with all their Bloody Victories ? And where are the wise Ahithophels and cunning Counsellors of the Earth , with all their Admirers ? And where are the covetous Oppressors , with all their Houses full of the Spoils of the Innocent ? Yea , in that day , where is all the Glory and Lusts of the World , with all the Lovers of it ? Surely in Darkness and Misery shall they lie down together , and Death shall have Dominion over them , even all who have not believed in the Light , Christ Jesus , and who have not followed him in the Regeneration , that they might be saved ; but have spent their dayes in the Pleasures and Lusts of the present Evil World to De u ction . Now therefore , O all People , Hearken to the Counsel of the Lord in this your Day , and learn of the Lamb , the Light , who calls you to Repentance from all your grievous Wayes . How long shall the Spirit of the Lord strive with you ? when will you cease learning War , and Destruction , and Oppression , and Spoil ? O when will you beat your Swords into Plow-shares . and your Spears into Pruning-Hooks ? O when will you go and say one to another , one Neighbour to another , and one Nation to another , Come let us all be humbled before the Lord God of Heaven and Earth , who made us all of one Blood , to dwell together upon the Face of the Earth in Truth , Goodness and Love to serve one another , and so as Branches of one Tree to receive Life , and Vertue , and Power from our God into our Souls , to strengthen us unto his holy Work ; who came not to destroy Men's Lives , but to save them ; whose Kingdom is not of this World , and therefore is not set up or maintained with carnal Weapons , Violence and Spoil ; but by the Eternal Spirit of our God , whose Fruit is in all Goodness , and Righteousness and Truth ? And let not the wicked Devil , the Destroyer , deceive us any more by his Lyes and Delusions ; but let us all with one Heart and Soul resist his Temptations . When he perswades us to seek to be great in the Earth , and be avenged on them we count our Enemies , let us not hearken to him ; but let us overcome their Evil with Goodness ; and not to seek the Destruction of their Persons , or spoil of their Estates , as the Heathens do that know not God ; but let us follow the Example of Jesus Christ , God manifest in Flesh , who when he was reviled , reviled not again , but prayed for such as despightfully used him . O come , let us follow this meek Lamb in Righteousness and Truth , and learn of him in our Heart , who is Meek and Lowly , that we may find Rest for our Souls ; Who rebuked his Disciples , who would have had Fire to come down from Heaven to destroy the Samaritans , that would not at that time receive Christ. For what knowest thou , O Man , but the Samaritans may in time , come to a better Mind ; and then thou wilt see it was thy Will , and not God's , that desired their Destruction in their Sins . For Christ would have all to be saved , and come to the Knowledge of his Truth : But many will not come to him , that they might have Life , and so their Destruction is of themselves and their Condemnation just . And who are those now therefore that withstand the Doctrine of the Truth , which said , love your Enemies ; and seek not the Destruction of their Persons , and the Spoil of their Estates ; but seek by good Doctrine and good Life to bring them out of their Sins : And if they will not , but rather hate thee for thy good Will , be content ; thou hast quitted thy own Soul , and art clear of their Blood ; And so thou becomest a Sufferer with Jesus Christ , and shalt reign with him in due time . I say , who are these now on the Earth , that withstand Truth , and continue in the hateful destroying Wayes of the old Jews and Gentiles , but such as will not be counselled by the Lamb of God , the Suffering Seed , who said , Learn of me , for I am meek and lowly in Heart : But are Men of corrupt Minds , who account Gain , and Worldly Honour , and Promotions more then Godliness , who cryes Peace to themselves in their Sins : And that same Spirit in them which cryes that false Peace in them , is the same that stirs them up to Kill , Destroy , Oppress and Spoil one another for Selfish and Worldly Ends. But the Lord is arisen to judge all these Evil Things and to redeem a Seed to serve him , as in the beginning of the Gospel , before Antichrist the Murderer got up amongst them , that professed Christ in Words , but denyed him in Deeds ; who had a Name that they lived , but were Dead from that true Life , which was in Christ Jesus , whom in Words they professed . And though the Passage we feel now to be as hard of coming from amongst the false Christians and Turks , as it was for the first true Christians to come from amongst the Jews and Gentiles ; Yet the Almighty Power of our God is able over all , and through all to carry us on to the end , whom he hath called and saved with a mighty Salvation ( ever-praised be his Name ) and who will yet save his Beloved Seed Israel , and gather them from the East and West , and from the North and South to sit down with Christ in his Kingdom : And this is no ill News to any , but who are glewed to Deceit , and married to Iniquity ; But it is good News and Glad-Tidings indeed to all that love their Souls , and the Honour and Glory of Truth more then the things of this perishing World. And I could desire that all who are apt to reason , as the Jews did , when they heard the Declaration of the Gospel of Peace , and Kingdom of God , which stands in Righteousness and Peace , saying , If we let this go on , then the Romans or Others will come and take our Place and Nation . I say , that they would consider , That the very Course which they , to wit the Jews , in the Denyal of the Truth took for saving of themselves , brought utter Destruction upon them and their Nation . But what lā—ā— shall vain man in his foolish faln Wisdom and earthly Reasoning think to be Wiser then God , and to have a greater Care and Love to the Creation , then God himself , who made it , hath ? What! shall Angels at the Birth of Christ sing , Glory to God on high , and Good-will to men ; and yet when the Way of God in Christ is published , for bringing this great Work of Salvation to pass , vain man must come in with his False Mind , and say , This is the way to confound all Order , and destroy all Good ; And that this Doctrine turneth the World up-side down ; And that the Messengers of Christ are pestilent Fellows , and Movers of Sedition ? O Earth , Earth ! Tremble before the Lord ; for thou shalt never have Peace in thy own wayes , thou shalt never be saved by thy own Strength , thou shalt never be established by thy own Counsels , thou shalt never have true Peace , nor any Plenty within thy Borders , until thou believest the Gospel , which saith , Learn of Christ , whose Kingdom is not of this World , and whose Weapons are not Carnal , but Spiritual , mighty through God ; not for the pulling down of outward Walls and Bodies , but for raizing , and pulling down , and destroying the strong Holds of Sin and Satan in the Hearts and Lives of the Children of men : For after that , saith the Apostle , The World by Wisdom knew not God ; it pleased God by the Foolishness of Preaching ( to wit , such Doctrine as this , which is a Cross and Stumbling-block to all corrupt Flesh ) to save them that believe . So lay things to heart , ye people of the World , and Inhabitants of all the Earth ; for God's Purpose is not to exalt any man or men of this World , or to glorifie any Flesh ; but to exalt his own Son , Christ Jesus , the heavenly Man , the Lord from Heaven , the Truth overall , of whose Kingdom and Government there shall be no End. And all that obey his Voyce , and for Obedience thereunto are made willing to Suffer with him , shall Raign with him for evermore : But all others , whether they be called Christians or Turks , or whatever else , shall be as the Dust or Chaff before the Wind to be scattered , as the Lord by his Spirit from the beginning has said , and at this time speaketh in his Servant . Thomas Taylor . THE END .