Epistle 149

All Friends every where meet together, and in the measure of God's spirit wait, that with it all your minds may be guided up to God, to receive wisdom from God; that ye may all come to know how ye may walk up to him in his wisdom, that it may be justified of you [Mat 11:19], and ye in it preserved up to God, and be glorified. And Friends meet together, and know one another in that which is eternal, which was before the world was. For knowing one another only in the letter and flesh, differs you little from the beasts of the field; for what they know they know naturally [Jude 1:10].

But all knowing one another in the light which was before the world was, this differs you from the beasts of the field, [common phrase] and from the world's knowledge, and brings you to know one another in the elect seed which was before the world was. And if ye turn from this light ye grow strange; and so neglecting meetings ye grow cold, and your minds run into the earth and grow weary and slothful, and careless, and heavy, and sottish, and dull, and dead. Ye may speak then of <142> things which were opened once from the light, though now ye be turned from it; but with the light in which is the unity is all that condemned [John 3:19f].

In which (light) is the fellowship with the son, from whence the light comes, which keeps in the liveliness, which keeps from slothfulness, and all those things before mentioned, which are contrary to the light; which who turns from, turns into. Therefore in the light wait and walk, that ye may have fellowship one with another [1 Jn 1:7]. I charge you all, in the presence of the living God, that none boast yourselves above your measure [2 Cor 10:13,15] of light; if ye do ye will be buffeted [2 Cor 12:7].

For such run into presumption, and so into reproof. Which reproof that spirit will not take patiently, but gets up into presumption; which is to be condemned with the light, in which is the unity, which keeps from desperation and presumption. They who go from the light, the enemy comes into them, and the envy, and the manslayer gets up within and slays the man; and no such one hath eternal life abiding in him, for he is turned from the light which comes from Christ Jesus, the life.

All who dwell in the light which comes from Christ, come to receive the eternal life. And here the love of God is shed abroad in the heart [Rom 5:5]; and dwelling in love ye dwell in God [1 Jn 4:16], and from the life the eternal love doth flow, which life comes from the Father of life, whose love doth not change. And so with the light (ye dwelling in it which leads to the life) ye will come to witness the faith unfeigned [1 Tim 1:5], and the humility unfeigned [Col 2:18,23], and the faith which works by love [Gal 5:6], which purifies the heart [Acts 15:9]; waiting in the light which comes from Christ Jesus, this is received from him.

For with the light man sees himself, which (light) comes from Christ, who is the author and finisher of his faith [Heb 12:2]; which faith gives him the victory [1 Jn 5:4] over that which he sees to be contrary to the light and to the word. And this is the one faith; and here the first Adam and the second Adam [1 Cor 15:45] are known and seen.

G. F.