Apokrypta apokalypta velata quædam revelata : some certain, hidden, or vailed spiritual verities revealed : upon occasion of various very prying and critical queries concerning God, the devil, and man, as to his body, soul, and spirit, Heaven, Hell, Judgement &c : propounded to George Fox, John Perrot, Samuel Fisher : and after that (with a complaint for want of, and stricter urgency for an answer) re-propounded to Edward Burroughs : by two persons, choosing to notifie themselves to us no other way then by these two unwonted (if not self-assumed) titles, viz. Livinus Theodorus, and Sabina Neriah : which truths (as there inspired by the spirit of God) are here expired in love to the souls of men / from ... Samuel Fisher.

Query 1. WHat is God really in himself, without any definiti∣on? And in what did he dwell, and manifest himself before the foundation of the Heavens and the Earth was laid?

Answer 1. God, as he is really in himself, is beyond all defi∣nition of ours at all, being not determined to his Hic & Hunc, as all created beings are, being (as to time and place) nec definitivé, nec circumscriptivé in either; but, if speaking by way of such description as those have made of him, who have seen and known him, may, de facto (as de jure, it ought to do) amount to the satisfaction of your prying minds, which would fain be intruding into things which ye have not seen. I answer, God, (whatever more he is, that's nothing to us, quae supra nos, nihil ad nos, the secret things of himself, are onely to himself, whose mind in all things absolutely, who hath known? But things reveal'd onely to us, to speak of, and to our Children) is really in himself, whatever he hath at any time, in and by his Son, revealed himself to be, in and to his holy Prophets, and Children; and whate∣ver they in all ages (as moved by him so to do) have decla∣red him to be, whether by word of mouth, or Scripture: And so whatever ye there read, God is, that God is really, indeed, and in truth, (viz.) a Spirit, Light, Love, that One, Omnipo∣tent, All-sufficient, Spiritual, Substantial, Living, Everlasting, Infinite Subsistence, which hath his own being of himself, and gives being, life, breath and All things unto All, in whom we and all mankind, who are his off-spring, both live, move, and have our being.

Howbeit, there is not in every man, no not in all those that read of him there, and can speak of him; what they there read, the true knowledge of him so, or so to be; for they onely truly know him to be this or that, who witness him truly to be this or that to, and within themselves; & those

know him not, who ere they are, that prate this and that of him (like Pyes and Parrets, which may be taught verba no∣stra conari) yet come not to find and feel him so to be, as they say of him, by feeling after him in his own Light, by which he draws nigh to, and is not far from every one of us; by which (in ommbus aliqualiter, though not aequaliter) in some measure, though not the same measure, he manifests something of himself in every Conscience, and by which in, and to such as love him, and keep his Commandments given out in the same, he manifests himself in such wise as he will not do to the World; yea, in such wise that they can expe∣rimentally say he is so or so, by what they see concerning him, and are made fully sensible of in themselves; in such wise that they have the witness of it in themselves, and can set to their seal, That God is, and that he is true, good, mer∣ciful, faithful, just, righteous in taking vengeance; that he is a Judge, a Protector, a Saviour, a Redeemer, and whatever else he is said to be, even of a truth; yea in such wise as to say with Job, I know that my Redeemer liveth: With Mary, My Spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour: With Paul, We are saved by his Grace; Christ liveth in me, &c. Whenas whoever thinks or sayes he knows God, because he can say something of him at second hand, in a form of words, and the same truth (perhaps) which he reads written of God in their Scriptures, who declare no more of him, than what their own eyes, ears, and hands, do see, feel and handle of him (as we do, and they did, who wrote of old that holy Scripture) and yet know him not nigher hand, in that which is of himself, with∣in their own hearts, even that by which 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, not onely whatsoever is known of God at all, but also whatever is to be known of him, or knowable at all, is manifested in him, Rom. 1. 19. he deceives and mistakes himself; and whate're he thinks he knows of God, he knoweth nothing yet of him, or of ought else, as he ought to know, therefore saith the Wisdom of God, 1 Cor. 1. 21. In the Wisdom of God, The world by Wisdom knew not God. And 1 John 2. 4. He that saith, he knoweth God▪ and keepeth not his Commandments, is a lyar, and the truth is not in him. And to such wise sayers and knowers as these (and such were the Scribes, who were ever scraping in

the Scriptures to find God, and his life; yet never knew him at any time, nor saw his shape, because they heard not his Voice, nor heeded his Word in themselves, Joh. 5 37.) God saith, Though ye say, God lives, yet as I live ye swear falsly. And why falsly? Was not that a truth, that God lives? Yes, but not a truth truly testified unto by them, (any more then what is testified in foro hominum, in mens Courts, by such as being not eye-witnesses thereof, have it onely by hear-say from others) because they witnessed to it but in stoln words, which they had, and heard from such, who knew him to live, while themselves knew him not to live within themselves. Where∣as therefore ye Query, What God really is in himself? As God saith of himself, I am that I am; so say I, Deus est id quod est; God is what he is: And if ye, who by your asking of u••, profess your selves to be yet ignorant of him, and so to worship (if yet ye worship him at all) an unknown God, as the wise Athenians did, would know him in any measure, as he is really in himself; My Counsel to you is, to stand still in his own Counsel, namely, his Light in your own Consciences, that in that you may be led forth into his life and likeness, even into the Image of his Son, the Light of the world, the righteous, pure, meek, innocent, gentle, loving, peaceable, in offen∣sive, merciful, compassionate, tender, patient Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of it, who is the express Image of the Father, in that Light that manifests him, and all things (for whate∣ver is manifest, is manifested by the Light) wait for his appear∣ing in his own Spirit and Power to restore his own Image in your hearts; that as he appeareth, ye may appear with him in his glory, which is fulness of Grace and Truth, being trans∣formed into his Image from glory to glory, by the operation of his holy Spirit, that as he appeareth, ye may be like him, and so see him as he is; then shall ye know the Lord, if ye thus follow on to know him, whose goings forth are prepared as the morn∣ing to meet those that meet him in his Light, by which he shineth into our hearts, to give the Light of the knowledge of his own glory, in the face of Jesus Christ.

Finally, In answer to the latter part of this your first Query, I say, That Light which God now is (whom no such eye as you look after him with, who ask counsel of man on∣ly concerning him, and not of himself alone, either hath seen, or can see) that same Light he ever was: And in that Light in which he now is, and dwells, (which is unapproach∣able by every evil-doer, who hates the Light, which is come into him to save him, neither comes into it, lest by it his deeds should be reproved, and which he who doth truth comes to, that his deeds may be made manifest to be wrought in God) in that God was, and did dwell from ever∣lasting; And as the outward Sun is not seen by any other na∣tural Light, save that which shines from it self in the out∣er world: So God neither is, nor can be seen by any other spiritual Light save that which shines from himself, into the inner world of men's hearts: And in that Light in which God doth now manifest himself, in the same did he manifest himself (if yet it be proper so to ask, and so to answer, as concerning him) before Time was, and before there was any Creature extant, to take cognizance of him by such a manifestation, even before the Foundation of the Heaven and Earth was laid.